Silly Rabbits

So I'm back from my little internet hiatus.  I will say that I've got much faster, consistent, and better service than I did before, and it's totally worth it.  Sure I'm spending a little more money but now I'm co-habitating with my lady friend so she's helping to pay for it, which is okay by me.  Anyway, since I've got my interwebs back I'm able to continue sending my wisdom to the world.

After many long weeks of work and many long weekends getting the house "organized" for the big move (i.e. the co-habitation), I had a weekend off.  Fortunately, B-Diddy was also hosting the annual rabbit camp.  I took this as an opportunity to enjoy some time out in the woods with guys hanging out at the cabin telling lies, playing cards, and having a few beers.  Also, we were doing so ice fishing and rabbit hunting but that almost seemed secondary.  

To some things up, we ate a lot of really good food that basically consisted of meat being put on a smoker (no vegetables to been seen) and there was a lot of it.  We had pork shoulder, goose, scrapple, bacon wrapped sausage, cheese, and there was also a rabbit that was freshly harvested.  It was all extremely delicious and lots of fun.  Unfortunately I didn't take any rabbits but I had fun blowing through two boxes of shells shooting clays.  Sometimes it's not about the hunt, but more about the time spent hanging out with friends.  

Sleepy Time

With the chaos that is the holiday season looming close (as we sit on the eve of Christmas) I decided to make a trip to visit my parents.  As with most holidays, all of my siblings and their families would also be joining us.  This means that no less than 18 people may or may not be staying in a house that was originally built to provide shelter for about five.  This means several things, with the most important (in my opinion) being identifying suitable sleeping arrangements for everyone.  

While this may seem like an easy proposition, it's more difficult than you might imagine.  For the most part, the shorties will sleep anywhere; in a tree, under a table, in a chair, you name it, they will sleep.  I, on the other hand, prefer a bit more in my sleeping need.  No I don't require a big fluffy bed, but one thing that is critical for me is have the space cool or even cold.  I cannot sleep in the heat, and with 18 people (as noted earlier) in the same house with the food being cooked constantly, that tends to raise the overall temperature of the home quite significantly.  

With this in mind, I began to search my parents' house for the most suitable location for me to get in a solid night of sack time.  For reference, the house is a one story ranch with a basement.  This means that the main floor is obviously out (because it reaches temperatures upwards of 75 degrees).  The kids typically play in the basement so the heaters are cranked to make sure it's warm enough.  I was running out of options.

As I walked onto the porch to grab another beer and ponder my options, it hit me.  I was going to sleep on the porch.  After a little searching for adequate sleeping materials I managed to put together a fairly decent bed.  It wasn't the best, but an old military sleeping bag, a few seat cushions, and a pillow provided me with one of the best nights of sleep I've had at my parents house in a long time.

Point Sources

So this weekend I had this great post planned that talked all about Brian and I heading to Raystown to meet up with Jerry, Bunny, and the whole Pittsburgh contingent for some mountain biking and some boating. It was a lot of fun, even though I was unable to keep pace with any of the people I rode with.  Instead, I was presented with a much better post that I will commence now.

After my trip to Raystown on Saturday, I planned to sleep in, drink my coffee, and then do some work around the house on Sunday.  I got a casual start on things that included mowing the grass (for the second time in less than a week), trimming some tree branches, and prepping my porch for an overdue paint job. I also planned to take in one of the last minor league baseball games of the season which meant that I would miss out on a grill session with the neighborhood crew.  As luck would have it, there was a nice solid rainstorm that rolled through the SC allowing me to bag the baseball game and head over to Cathy's for some grilling and football.  Since I was going to be an afterthought for the grilling, I decided I would take a bottle of wine (to go with my PBR and High Life).

As I went into the wine cellar (read: basement) to pick out a nice bottle, I noticed some water at the bottom of the steps.  When I looked in the other rooms around the basement I noticed more water on the floor.  This got me thinking that a pipe had broken and was leaking.  This was unfortunately not the case.  With a little more investigation, I discovered that water was leaking in through one of my basement windows.  Even more important, upon further inspection, I noticed a crack in my foundation below the window that was also allowing water to intrude in my basement.  

While I prepped the vacuum and began to extract the liquid that had accumulated in every room of my cellar, I thought about what might have cause the crack in my foundation.  It came down to two possible options.  One was the earthquake that recently occurred here in the northeast but that seemed unlikely  What I determined to be the more plausible option was the repetitive drilling of massive holes through my house to make way for the new heating and cooling system that has been installed.  Either way, I started to reevaluate my "to-do" list for the house and the foundation repair has managed to make it to the top of the list.  

Fortunately, the crack in the foundation was only part of what occupied my thoughts while cleaning up the basement.  The other thing that consumed me was why, after several years and plenty of significantly more torrential storms, had water filled this window well and overflowed into my basement.  Regardless, I wasn't going solve this issue overnight, and with the water vacuumed up, I decided to grab that bottle of wine and make my way around the corner to grill.  

As I walked around the side of my house I noticed a few things.  One thing I noticed was all the sticks and other debris from the rainstorm that littered my freshly mowed yard.  The other thing I noticed was the downspout that I had moved in order to mow.  The downspout that I moved right next to my basement window and forgot to move back after mowing my yard.  There's nothing like the feeling you get when you realize that the hour and a half you just wasted cleaning up water in your basement was because you decided to directly pipe all the storm water from your roof right into your basement.

Four Horses

So this weekend I played host to Jerry from Pittsburgh and our friend Nate who now lives in Montana. Nate was previously a resident of the SC so he is well versed in the single-track that is Rothrock State Forest, but hasn't been back in a few years to enjoy it.  The main item on our agenda for the weekend was to ride, eat steak, and avoid dude parties.  I was looking forward to getting back on the bike since I'd taken a few weeks off but I was not looking forward to riding with these two individuals because of their bicycling prowess.  To make things more interesting Brian was joining us and to add extra doses of fun Jerry and Nate decided to invite Ryan, one of their former teammates, to join us on our rock garden tour.

Let me break this down for you: Jerry is a cat one road racer and is crazy fast.  I'm not sure if it's from his disproportionally large ass (compared to the toothpicks he calls legs) or his love of queso dip but either way, he's scary strong.  Nate is a cat one road racer (retired) and can ride the wheels off any bike that is provided to him regardless of age, fit, or components.  Ryan is a former masters cyclocross national champion therefore further details or elaboration isn't necessary.  Finally, Brian is just a freak and somehow has the ability to change his riding ability to keep up with whomever he is with and punish them mercifully.  

Then there is me.  As I mentioned earlier, I've spent the last three weeks not riding.  Of course even if I had I would still only be about one fourth as talented as any one of these gentlemen on their worst day.  I felt like I was riding with the four horsemen of the apocalypse, except instead of horses we were on bikes.

Needless to say it was a lot of them waiting around for me and then me falling apart and having to bail. I would have provided pictures of this menacing group of soul crushing individuals, however I was never close enough (or had enough energy) to snap a picture.  Besides, knowing my luck any photo wouldn't turn out since these four guys are borderline inhuman and everyone knows they can't be captured on film.  Overall, however, the ride was super fun but also super humbling.  Someday I hope to actually stay in touch with any of these four on a bike, but I doubt that will ever happen.  Quite frankly I wouldn't want it any other way.

Add One

So this past weekend I made a short trip down the road to Scranton to see some old friends who were visiting from Atlanta.  The reason for this outing was that Sean's parents decided to throw he and his wife Lucy a baby shower.  You see, in order to have a baby shower one needs to have a baby.   If you're paying attention, that would mean that Sean and Lucy are expecting a child; their first one; in about a month.  

This was not your typical baby shower as Sean's parents invited both men and women to this event.  It also was not your typical baby shower because while there were fancy finger foods and spritzers, there was also bonfires, clay bird shooting, and beer drinking; not necessarily in that order.  It was actually one of the best baby showers I have ever been to.  In full disclosure though, I think it was the only baby shower I have ever been to as well.  

While at this baby shower having all this fun, I got to thinking.  The groundbreaking thought that I had was that maybe I should have a baby.  Okay, let's not get carried away.  I'm not planning to, nor am I in any position to have a baby, so relax.  That's not going to happen.  

Instead, I was thinking that maybe I should get a dog.  Dogs are kind of like children, except they can't take care of themselves so if I were to get a dog it would always need me to take care of it.  Yeah that's right, I'm considering getting a built in need factory.  I realize it sounds a bit crazy and for those of you that know me it quite possibly is insanely nuts, but you never know, maybe it will be good for me.

Rule of Three

So I have this theory.  I'm not a fancy scientist like some of my other friends (yeah I'm talking about you Nikki) so my theory might actually be a hypothesis, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.  My theory goes like this: Any home related project you decide will be more cost effective to "complete" yourself instead of paying a professional to do will result in a minimum of three trips to your local home store.  It doesn't matter what you need or think you need; a bolt, a box of galvanized screws, one washer, an air compressor; you will eventually find yourself at a home-store at least three times before  you can fully begin your frugal project.

I know this theory to be fairly accurate because I tested it this past weekend.  My father came to town (as he so graciously does from time-to-time) to help me with a significant house project.  I decided it would be a good idea to install ducting in my house so I can install a gas furnace and replace my electric baseboard heat.  As a bonus, this new ducting could also accommodate air conditioning; and that's reason enough for me to take on such a project.  It didn't seem like a difficult task since my house is only one story and all the infrastructure would be in the basement so I invited my father up for a weekend of fun, merriment, and heavy lifting.  

Well, after a screaming hot start on Saturday morning, things slowed to a crawl.  The long and short of it is this: we spent fifteen hours working on Saturday and another eight working on Sunday (before I sent my father home).  We made four trips to various home stores (all on Saturday); we destroyed one "professional" drill; we (meaning I) spent a bunch of money buying new tools and other tool accessories; we cut five holes in my floor (out of fourteen); we managed to hang about twelve feet (out of a total of about fifty feet) of duct.

The saving grace is that this weekend was blue bird days in the high seventies, so ideal for outdoor activity.  Fortunately we were solidly held-up in my basement so we avoided any chance of enjoyable outdoor activities.  Lucky for me we didn't get anywhere close to finishing so I'll get lots more cellar time in the near future.  Sun exposure can be rough you know...

Hello Ladies

Today is Mother's Day.  I know that because it says so on my calendar.  This is the one day out of the year where moms all over the world get to sit back, relax, and forget all their responsibilities for the entire day.  Typically, the men in their lives take care of all the day-to-day activities so that moms can have the day off.  Personally, I think giving moms even one day off every year is entirely too much.

The way I see it, moms are typically the voice of reason and keep us menfolk out of trouble.  Sure, I had some disagreements with my mother when I was growing up and some punishments were handed down but it was typically for my own good.  I would accept my sentence even when my mother was completely wrong.  The bottom line is, we need moms to do their mom-thing twenty four hours a day.  Some of the people I know can do some amazingly ridiculous things in just one day and need that motherly supervision all the time (It's possible that I might fall into this category).  

So for all the current and future moms out there, thanks for everything.  We couldn't do it without you and you should be celebrated every day of the year; not just one Sunday in May.  Luckily, Father's Day is far enough away that I can probably recycle this post.  After all, dads are kind of important too.  

The Chase

Racing bikes is not easy; by any stretch.  

When you get shelled out the back of an 80 person field after the third corner; nothing good happens.  Quite frankly it demoralizing.  It's like expending every bit of energy you have just to hang on, only to get flagged out because you're either "Going to get lapped" or "Not in contention" for the win.  Either way you cut it; it sucks.  

Fortunately Jerry and Caroline are gracious hosts and let Colin and myself stay at their home.  Of course after getting destroyed during the sanctioned event you have to make sure not to take things easy because you just get clipped on the ride home.  Even when you don't know where you are or how to get where you want to be.  It's easy to get lost in the Burgh' and sometimes you get your finger crushed trying to find your way out.  

You just have to be careful I guess.

Hang on Tight

If Saturday night marked an end then Sunday morning had to bring along a beginning. We’ve officially turned over a new calendar year and my 2012 has already been highly eventful. To close out 2011 and officially start two aught one two, I managed to drive 1,600 miles in three days, attend a funeral, and experience what it’s like to be in one of the shows about driving in a blizzard. You know the ones where a string of cars are driving real slow with their hazards on and some jag-off rips past them all going way too fast only to end up in a ditch? Yeah, that kind except in this case I was NOT the idiot driver but there were plenty of them in ditches. I’m not sure if this is a sign of things to come but if it is, 2012 is going to be one hell of a ride.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Ho Cubed

So according to the calendar on the wall, today is Christmas. That’s right, the day when all us good Christians gather for a day filled with prayer and reflection on the year and to celebrate a birthday. For me, that loosely translates to eating and drinking entirely too much over a multi-day period spent with family and friends.

Several years ago my family (read: me) decided that exchanging gifts was more trouble than it’s worth. There are too many people in the family now so the gift exchange portion of the day would just take way too long and trying to coordinate everyone’s schedule is just too daunting. Personally, I prefer it this way because let’s be honest, I have just about everything I need and if I don’t I’ll most likely buy it for myself when I realize that I might actually need it.

As I wait for the rest of the family to arrive at my parents’ house I’ll soak in the remaining bits of quiet while I can. Soon a whirlwind of chaos and mayhem will ensue and the children will turn the living room into a snowstorm of wrapping paper with little effort. It will be good to see everyone and catch up on the past year and who knows, maybe this time when a jolly man dressed as Santa appears at the door unexpectedly, someone in the house will actually know who it is.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

DD Part Two

So as many of you know this past Thursday was Thanksgiving for we folks in the U.S. and, like any good person, I decided to travel. For the second year in a row I headed to Pittsburgh to spend the big day and subsequent weekend with the freshly minted Mr. and Mrs. Babik. The highlight of the trip, however, was going to be my second dance with the Dirty Dozen; riding bikes up thirteen of the steepest hills in the city. I wasn’t sure how the ride would go since I haven’t been training but the weather was going to be ideal and I figured I could struggle through it. After all, I would be starting with a belly full of Turkey.

A lot happened over the weekend so instead of going into specific detail I figure it will be easier to just make a list so here goes:

• Jared and Caroline host an amazing Thanksgiving feast
• Jared has more beer left over from his wedding than any one person should
• Pittsburgh has some fun mountain bike trails right in the city
• Steve K. is awful at NHL 95 but for some reason is really good at the Sweet Valley High board game
• There's free parking closer to the Pen’s games than most people realize, but watch out for the nacho cheese
• Caroline makes an amazing breakfast and is great at motivating cyclists so they don’t quit
• Steevo can ride the wheels off a bike; any bike
• Jared can get true hill points when he tries
• Riding roads and trails for four days straight takes a lot out of you
• Driving the turnpike the Sunday after Thanksgiving is a bad idea

As you can see it was a full couple of days and that is just a partial list. I survived another Dirty Dozen and completed all the hills. I felt better than I thought and rode stronger than I expected. Steevo won his 8th straight DD and a record crowd of over 300 cyclists showed up to start the 29th installment of this little tour of Pittsburgh (but the amount of finishers is unknown). Of course the show on WQED and the 60 degree weather probably helped but who’s counting? I’ve already decided that I’ll be back to do it again next year because the whole trip was a lot more fun than I expected but more importantly, I’ll get a dot next to my name for (hopefully) finishing my third DD.

Together

This past weekend was one that I have been looking forward to for quite a while. I was traveling to Pittsburgh to witness the union of Jared and Caroline. I met Jared about five years ago through some mutual friends and I’ve known Caroline for about three years when she and Jared made one of his annual trips to the SC. Over the years I’ve become good friends with both of them and early on it was clear that they would wind up getting married.

Saturday morning Spring, Brian, and I headed out on our way to the big city. Jared and Caroline had an evening ceremony scheduled so we had time to get into town, have some lunch, get all gussied up, and head to the big event. Following the nuptials was a great celebration that included lots of dancing, lots of cookies, and French fries; lots of delicious French fries with assorted toppings. Nothing rounds out a long night of merriment than deep fried potato sticks smothered in cheese and bacon bits. Well, nothing except maybe watching the bride run barefoot down the streets of Pittsburgh while the groom carried her shoes.

Uninvited Guests

For the regular readers of this little blog of mine, you may have noticed that the last several posts have been a departure from my usual banter of rides and other awesome outdoor activities. Instead, I have been talking about boring domestic type stuff. I changed all of that this past weekend with many hours of mountain bike riding. It was nice to be back in the woods on the trails enjoying some ride-time with friends.

On Sunday, Jeremy, Nikki, Josh (Jeremy’s brother), and I made the ridiculously long drive to ride the Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake. I didn’t realize however, that Nikki was going to sit out our ride and hand her bike over to someone else. That person was none other than our new friend Nixtreeme.

In a dizzying display of awesomeness, Nixtreeme raged onto the scene and put on a clinic of trail-crushing abilities. It was all we could do to keep up as she doubled the whoops and carved out the singletrack like a Thanksgiving turkey. In fact, Nixtreeme’s abilities were so mind-blowing we had to let extra air out of her front shock to make sure she got maximum travel in order to limit the impact on the trails.

While it might seem like I’m making this up, you’d be wrong. The only reprieve we got from this expo of trail slaying and chest bumps was to pick some fresh raspberries along the way. I just hope for Jeremy’s sake that Nixtreeme limits her new found coolness to the forest.

Decks, Part II

So last weekend I mentioned that I was helping my friend Jeremy build a deck at his house. Well, this weekend, I decided to help him (and now that Nikki is back, her as well) finish the deck, but at the same time start mine. See, in our ‘hood we have a strict rule that only one deck is allowed to be worked on at a time.

On Saturday I decided to start my deck which basically meant I was destroying my arms by digging holes for the posts. I spent a goodly part of the day getting the actual size and shape of the deck figured out and I think it goes without saying that it’s going to be much bigger and complicated than I originally anticipated, but still relatively simple. Let’s be honest though, who doesn’t like a big deck (and get your mind out of the gutter Ms. Y)?

So you may be asking, why the rush to build a deck at my house? Well, when I bought my house two years ago I decided the miniature window in my dining room would look a hell of a lot better as a set of French doors. This week, that finally became a reality. Of course, I can’t have a brand new door without a massive deck to go with it, right (again, Spring, this is not the time)? Anyway, I’m going to take some time and build the aforementioned deck throughout the coming week so I don’t get totally destroyed by the process.

Crushed...

So this weekend (starting Friday after work) I thought it would be a good idea to help my friend and neighbor Jeremy build a deck. Of course, when I say build a deck, I really mean doubling the usable footprint of their home. This was a colossal undertaking and I’m not entirely sure why I decided to spend an entire weekend digging holes, plumbing posts, leveling beams, and setting deck boards.

I guess it was a neighborly thing to do and the free food and beer was a nice perk but suffice it to say, I’m more exhausted now than I ever thought I would be and the deck isn’t even completely done. Of course, it is usable and that’s what counts. I’m just glad I wasn’t around for the jack hammering. Oh yeah, and a hearty congratulations goes out to Spring and Brian for getting all married this weekend so now they can officially stop living in sin. Congratulations you guys…

Wedding Bells

While it should come as no surprise, I’m highly exhausted. This weekend was more intense and action packed then most. It involved yard work, bike rides, entertaining, and, most importantly, a wedding. Apparently this time of year seems to be good for weddings since I know three couples that are getting hitched in the next few weeks, but this past Saturday was all about Herm and Justine.

As luck would have it, the weather cooperated and the rain that has been pummeling us took a break. This allowed the outdoor ceremony to go off without issue. It was a grand affair that went well into the night with bonfires and camping and fireworks. Personally, I had a great time so I’ll just assume everyone else did too. Congratulations Mike and Justine and thanks for throwing such a wonderful party.

Two for the Road

As promised, but with a short delay of several weeks, I finally managed to get away from the SC for a few days. On Friday morning I loaded up my car and made the “shorter than expected but still really long trip” to Atlanta to visit Sean and Lucy. This would be the first time seeing Sean and Lucy in just over a year, but it was also going to be my first foray back to Georgia since I left six years ago. The plan was to spend some quality time hanging out, enjoying the cozy north Georgia sunshine, and riding mountain bikes.

Upon my arrival at Sean and Lucy’s I was greeted with that often talked about Southern hospitality. That is to say neither one of them was home. Since I felt like I had been folded in half from sitting in the car for twelve hours I decided to relax under the magnolia tree in their front yard and wait for someone to show up. After a short wait, Sean rolled up on his motorcycle and he escorted me in for a beer in their courtyard while we got caught up on old times. About an hour later Lucy arrived and we decided to head out for some dinner.

Saturday morning came early but also included coffee and bagels. The plan was to ride mountain bikes on the Chicopee Trails, then head into Athens for some dinner and also to watch the Twilight Criterium. The Twilight Criterium is kind of major bicycle race that’s been held in downtown Athens for about thirty years and is crazy exciting to watch because it’s a short course and is wicked fast. That alone would have been more than enough excitement for one trip. Fortunately, there was more fun to be had.

Sunday morning Lucy and I headed out for breakfast while Sean stayed home to do school work (as he’s working on his MBA). The afternoon involved Sean and I heading to northern Georgia for some more mountain biking at Bull Mountain while Lucy went to work for a few hours. I had done plenty of road rides in north Georgia but never any trails so that was a treat to be had. After several hours of suffering on the red clay we made our way back to the house for some burgers and beers.

Unfortunately I had to get up crazy early today and drive back to the SC. Now, I’m extremely tired and a day late on my blog. I guess the bright side is that while I was in Atlanta Sean and Lucy not only got to spend time with me but they each got new boots. Of course, Lucy didn’t get to keep hers, but in this case that's a good thing.

Growth & Learning

Even though the temperatures outside might not reflect it, we are now officially into the spring growing season. With that in mind, I decided this would be a good weekend to plant some new grass along the side of my house where I had done some landscaping last year. This would be a perennial grass (instead of the annual rye I planted last year) and it would be a permanent solution. With any luck it will become a nice lush carpet where I can enjoy walking barefoot.

Since this was a landscaping project I brought in my trusted landscape experts (who happen to be my brothers) to assist with the heavy lifting and provide consultation on how to actually get everything to grow. I talked with my brother Tim in advance to prepare for the work and he agreed to purchase the grass seed and other necessary dressings for the impending yard. I rented a massive tiller to help make the work easier. Tim and Jay arrived on Saturday morning and we wasted little time getting to work (after eating lunch of course).

Without getting into the gruesome details, I learned two specific things this weekend. First of all, we probably took on more yard then we realistically had time for. It ended up being about 4,000 square feet and while we did finish (barely in daylight), it took a lot more time then expected. While it might not look like it, one of the pictures is before and the other is, in fact, after.

We ended up using about 35 pounds of grass seed; 15 pounds of fertilizer; two tanks of gas on the tiller; two bales of salt hay; four yards of top soil; and about 25 different rakes, shovels, and implements of destruction. I now have a relatively leveled side yard that should produce a really nice lawn that I’ll get to mow. The second thing I learned is that the next time my brothers come to town; I need to stock up on various paper products and juices.

Youthful Beat-down

So this weekend I decided I would take care of some of the more adult responsibilities in my life. Like most independent adult males, I returned home to my mom and dad’s house so I could have my father help me with my taxes. Normally I would be able to do them on my own with a pen and paper but now I have write-offs and deductions and other adult type things that the EZ form doesn’t account for. As a kicker, my parents were watching my sister’s kids (my niece and nephews) so I got a chance to experience, once again, what it’s like to be a care free child that gets help whenever you give a yell.

As an aside, when I returned to my “real life” back in the SC, I had an interesting conversation with my friend Nikki about a story she wrote when she was eleven. The inspiration of her yarn was to predict what her adult life would be like. While her account involved some common themes, it also included some very prestigious accomplishments. The point though, was that between seeing my niece and nephews, coupled with the reading of Nikki’s tale, made me start to imagine what my younger self would think about me and what I’ve accomplished (or how I completely failed).

The sad truth is that I’m not sure how my adolescent persona would feel about the way I’ve turned out, but I think overall he’d be happy. I still ride bikes in the dirt; I have front-row season tickets at the ballpark; I don’t need my parents to give me rides to the movies; I don’t have icky girls in my house that may or may not have cooties (SIDE NOTE: adult Eric isn’t crazy about this one); and I can eat as much ice cream as I want, whenever I want. Sure, I’m not the world renowned architect I thought I should be, but I’ve got a pretty good gig going for me. Even if eleven-year-old Eric may have had loftier goals for me, he probably wouldn’t complain about how things turned out.

Passing Time

This past weekend marked the anniversary of my arrival on this earth. As has been the case for the past several years, my birthday included a casual evening spent with friends. I had a nice dinner (thanks Cathy) and a few drinks with some truly wonderful people and yet, even though it wasn’t a wild night, I managed to have a ridiculous headache the next day. I hate to admit it, but I think it means I’m getting old.

See, in my twenties, I could rage all night long, get about an hour of sleep (if I was lucky), and function like a normal human being. Now that I’ve added a few years to my resume of life, I have a much harder time bouncing back, even after just a few pops. While I would have preferred to spend the weekend lounging around the house sipping coffee and recuperating, I didn’t have that luxury. I had to shake the cobwebs out and head to the mountain for some fresh air and early spring mashed potatoes.

I’d like to say digging trenches in the unseasonably soft snow was the highlight of my weekend but that wouldn’t be true. It was really nice to receive phone calls from my nieces and nephews (including you Josie), and the ginger cookies were better than ever. What really put the icing on the proverbial cake though, were the humorous messages and birthday wishes I got from Jeremy who was in Missouri celebrating in his own special way.