It stopped snowing

Gina went out and took a few shots this morning.



ahh, the beautiful blue trim on the garage

Snow

lights, under snow


morphed into the walrus



starting to tilt, needs to work on core exercises

And On and On.............

From Margaret, re-visiting the Tonya H. Nancy K. (whyyy me-e-e-e) saga

And On and On it goes

from Rock..

is that a great name, or what?

FOTO FUN all around

Gina's cousin Margaret has fine tuned this photo...
click on it to make it larger and more readable.
Have at it... everybody..

Bus hanging over I-5 near Denny overpass

Bus hanging over I-5 near Denny overpass click on that...

we don't handle the snow and ice well at all, here in Seattle.

Snow Day in Seattle

A biking friend stopped by to visit.


Rock had some more fun photoshopping my pictures.
I could use a hug, though.



Lance Snowman
Jeez, do my feet look HUGE in this picture ? esp. compared to my skinny little legs?

Refreshing Dip

Isn't this just the coolest? no pun intended.
Many thanks to our buddy Rock (aka Surfer Dude) for digitally playing around with the blog photos. He is gifted in so many ways.

Ed's Christmas Lights

Our first stop on the night we got home from Maui was at Ed's (and his little dog, Katie) house. To see how many lights he put up... as you can see, zillions. Actually, it's an apt. bldg, and fortunately, there is a vacancy in the upper apt.
Ed is a gym member, extraordinaire... I think he logs more hours in there than us.

Maui News

So, here's the narrative to go with the photos that I posted yesterday.

The trip started out perfectly. We left the house in the dead of morning, 5:00am. Got to the car park, no problem. Opened the trunk to give suitcases to shuttle dude. OOPS, "where's my green suitcase?!" In my sleepy stupor I made sure I had my coffee mug, the newspaper, the garbage to take to garage but I HAD LEFT MY SUITCASE IN THE DARK LIVING ROOM !!!

Fortunately, I was travelling with Mario Andretti. We hopped back in the car and set out to get it. Trying to plan for contingencies all the way. Traffic was pretty heavy but no back ups (we were way early for our flight) Mario/Gina was able to drive 80+ the whole way, in and out of lanes, zip zip zip.... The intersection at Ravenna and 65th, the light didn't want to turn green so of course she ran it.... (and we worried all week that it was a red light camera intersection and we'd have a little gift in the mail when we got home- it isn't, we didn't) Got the suitcase, 80 mph all the way back. Got to the car park and the same shuttle dude was there. He thought we must live close by, when I said Green Lake, he was totally impressed. We didn't need to worry about exercise that day, the heart rates had been elevated enough. And we still had time to go thru the way long security line, and relax and wait for our flight.

So, we made it just fine to Maui. And our vacation went as it usually does. Here is a typical day's agenda:
6:00am wake up
7:00am running or a spin class
8:00am laps in the pool
9:00am select chaise lounges, drink coffee and read newspapers poolside
10:00am apply sunscreen
11:00am Lupe delivers first Heinekin to me
12:00pm we move to the tables for lunch and crib game
1:00-3:00pm fool around in pool, keep lookout for whales, talk sports with Jerome the bartender
3:00pm move down to beach for an hour of swimming, wave thrashing, people watching
4:00pm to the room for a bit of Rachel Maddow show, shower
5:00pm head to dinner (we actually tried a couple new places, and they are permanently on our list now)
7:00pm try to watch tv
8:00pm zz zzzzz


We did go do a bit of snorkel-less snorkeling. Which is perfect for me. Otherwise I spend the whole time concentrating on my breathing and not the fish. And we saw the big turtles swimming very near us. I think Gina could have touched him. (her?)

On Saturday we broke the routine and we drove to Wailuku to run a 5k race that I had read about. It was a fund raiser for a local HS kid who has cancer. We met the kid, Jarron. He was impressed that we came all the way from Seattle to run in his race. Talked with a couple of the local runners. It was a really nice time. We won a couple raffle gift certificates, which we re-gifted to Lupe and our spinning teacher.

The state of the economy was evident. The hotel was at about 50% occupancy. Which is a real drag for the staff, but nice for those of us staying. That week is usually slow but not that bad.

No rain all week, so it was perfect.
And then we come home to 20 degree weather.

Mahalo for listening to my stuff.

Lupe ! Here it is !!!

Lupe is one of our favorites at the hotel ( and Robert, Allison, Keisa, Jerome, Eddie, the latte ladies, Linda, well, we like them all ) Could it be because she knows when to bring my first Heinekin? No,no she's really a nice woman. And we've got running in common. She does a few races there. I get exhausted just watching the miles she puts in at work.

The Westin staff Christmas party had a "Dancing with the Stars" contest. We'd asked Lupe if she wanted to join us for a 5K race on Saturday. She declined, cuz of the party the night before. Later Jerome tells us the whole story.... Lupe is one of the dancing contestants !

We stopped by the party that night to watch. We are practically family there (well, we think so). It was really fun and the dancers were all great. Lupe was paired up with Trent, a very talented and handsome young guy. They did a great job, and we found out later they actually won the contest. It's all very funny because Lupe is such a sweet and shy gal. It must have been totally out of character for her to do this.

We had won a gift certificate in the raffle prizes at the race so we awarded that to Lupe .

My photos SUCK ! The lighting was for the stage. And of course I don't know how to use the special features of the camera that might offset the back lighting. And cuz we were essentially crashing the party I didn't think I could stroll up to the stage and snap away. I softwared them up as best I could. She wanted to see them, so I told her she'd have to suffer thru the blahhgg to see them.

the video screen catches Lupe

Poodle skirt flying

Did someone mention Hawaii ??

a typical sunset view from our room. ugh.


Black Rock, at the Sheraton. We went snorkeling (minus the snorkel). Saw the fish, and the TURTLES !! no, those are not Gina's dansko's

waves crashing, Molokai in the background

scenery

Snorkel tour folks blocking my view.

off for an open water ocean swim, back in 20 minutes.

pool boredom

gina slides with style

wild life , it wasn't all at the pool bar. And we did see whales not far off shore.. that's always a highlight!

atr slides !

Gymnauseum, part 3

So, last night was a party (back at the Bath House Theatre). A pot luck thingy to have the gang say good bye to the staff (Chris, Kat, Laura and Mac) . Fortunately, Chris and Laura were there. Kat was working at her new job. Although it seemed as if everyone was waiting for Mac... phone messages said "he's on his way" . But it was nice to see a lot of folks. There was of course some bitching, and it will go on , I'm sure, human nature being what it is.

Gina and I were gone for the first 10 days of the takeover so had nothing to add to the mix.. I did get the scoop that on one of the first days, one of the staff let the jacuzzi overflow, into the men's locker room. nice. There is a lot of equipment moved around. Apparently a 'well run gym' has all the weights piled up in a corner, and 17 ( I exaggerate) benches right next to each other. Might be a bit dangerous if 2 people were using adjacent benches... clunk .... Well, not so dangerous if it was me, as I use those colorful little single digit weights. But Rock, or Gina... Look out neighbor, I'm working my lats !!

For such a lousy transition phase one would think that customer service would be top priority with these guys. And the easiest thing to do is to say hello and introduce oneself to members as they come thru the door. Not happening. We made the effort yesterday. And it was painful/awkward. And as for the qualified staff behind the counter, one guy was sketching cartoons (Gina likes him cuz his artwork is good) and the gal today... reading a book. Maybe she's trying to keep up with members as this is a pretty literate group that works out there. Or maybe she's avoiding talking to anyone cuz she knows we're all pissed off.

Anyway, I managed to get a decent workout in.. Actually lifted some weights and did some core work. November was disastrous for my routine and Hawaii didn't help.

Gym Nauseum, part 3

Not to belabor the point.... but yesterday's mail brought the "out with the old, in with the new" letter from the gym owners, past and present. It was full of B.S. of course, trying to mollify the old clients. Whatevah...

But there was one sentence in the half of the letter from Nancy, the seller, that really cracked me up. As a refresher, Tony is the younger guy with short man's disease , and Henry is the smooth talker.

Quote from Nancy "Tony is well adjusted for his youth."

Which, of course, means he's NOT.

5 4

Happy Birthday to Gina !

you don't know how long we seached for a G sign for this photo op...

ok, not long at all.. this is gina and her mom at gasparetti's restaurant in Yakima.

Haste makes ....

So, this morning as I woke up I realized I had forgotten to include my cousin Terri in the slew of photos from last night's posting. I cannot even believe I did that. Because she and Kim are some of the very few faithful followers of this world famous blog.

I know what you all are thinking... with the world in the mess it's in, it's this lame blog that wakes you with worry??? and the answer is "yes". But only because I don't have to worry about Jack Bauer... we KNOW he will make it, not so the folks in his near vicinity. Which reminds me, cousin Terri is Terri Bauer. You know, like Jack's ex-wife... But now all my "24" 's are muddled.... did they divorce or did she get killed?? and did you notice that Terri's husband's name is Kim?? you know, like Kim Bauer, daughter of Jack?? yes, it's all very eerie.

Anyway, I digress. Let's make photo amends.


here she is wondering if Jonn's stories will EVER end?


and of course, laughing at my jokes.

Family

The recent weeks have brought about a lot interaction with relatives. I'll just post photos.


Gina and cousin Louise (Ljoigge)


Ashley, Louise, Pria, ATR, G

Tim and Stacy and non-blood brother Jonn

Tim and ATR (gina always claims Tim to be carbon copy of my dad)

ATR and Aunt Phyllis

ATR and Steve

MaryEllen

Emerson (son of Lisa)

Aaron (son of a gun, I mean MaryEllen)

Lisa and Eric (those michelob ultras are messing with people's eyes)

Gym Nauseum, part 2

Last Wed. night there was another meeting, this time at the club. To "meet the new owners". I feel like I'm back at work. I haven't been to this many meetings in a while.

This time Henry, the smooth talker, and Tony, short guy whose dad is bankrolling the gig, were in attendance to share their ideas for the gym, and let us get to know them a bit. Almost 2 hours later I think we all knew them enough to not like them. The meeting did get a bit contentious.... which is why I attended. Blog material. One of the guys' MySpace page mentions wanting to be a rock star, so of course one of the moms (who's child care option is gone) made a smart remark. As smooth as Henry tried to be, no one cut him any slack. Including our own Gina, who grilled him on whether the spin bikes will be available at all hours since they plan on moving spin class upstairs to the child care room. (it has a separate outside locked entry way) and on whether they will still offer the family/spousal discount to domestic partners. The answer is yes, but he practically said "what you do in your own bedroom is of no concern..." a simple yes would have sufficed. Not so smooth. What was nice was one of the old guys asked me if we wanted him to ask the question. What a sweetie.
They were BS'ing about some subject and Mac was listening in and called him on it. Standing O for Mac.
One guy, who we don't really like anyway, asked about their business plan, capitalization, everything but his bank acct. #.... Henry said, a bit testily and of course we'll give him this one... "It's none of your business". Which it isn't but his tone didn't win anyone over.

I think the dudes probably got a pretty good snapshot of their clientele at the meeting. 75 people, mostly my age or older, a few handicapped folks, mostly very intelligent and more used to contentious meetings than Henry and Tony, for sure. He's got short man's disease something bad. And no one wants to pay extra for training packages, which is the big issue.

The thing I found interesting was when the new name of the club came up, and Henry says something to the effect of "that was one meeting I shouldn't have missed", as he was wearing an Anderson's sweatshirt. Guess he doesn't like the catchy new name.........................
American Athlete Sport and Health Club. or something like that. They never did say what it's going to be.

The staff that we love, Mac, Chris, Mark and Kat, all have a last day on Friday this week. We'll be gone, and gone for the first week of the new ownership. Can't wait til we get back to see how things are going.

Rock has suggested I write a pilot for a new tv comedy based on this whole affair. He just wants to be in it, but portrayed by Laird Hamilton (surfer God). Stay tuned.

Raw Food mmm mm good !

Louise had the big idea to find a Raw Food restaurant in Seattle. So of course we found a place nearby and had a delightful lunch. Here is a very brief description that i copied from Wikipedia. Go there yourself for much more info.

Raw foodism (or rawism) is a lifestyle promoting the consumption of un-cooked, un-processed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet.Many foods in raw food diets are simple to prepare, such as fruits, salads, meat, and dairy. Other foods can require considerable advanced planning to prepare for eating. Rice and some other grains, for example, require sprouting or overnight soaking to become digestible. Many raw foodists believe it is best to soak nuts before eating them, in order to activate their enzymes, and deactivate enzyme inhibitors. Preparation of gourmet raw food recipes usually call for a blender, food processor, juicer, and dehydrator.[28] Depending on the recipe, some food (such as crackers, breads and cookies) may need to be dehydrated. These processes, which produce foods with the taste and texture of cooked food, are lengthy. Some raw foodists dispense with these foods, feeling that there is no need to emulate the other non-raw diets.

And here are a few photos of our "pizza, nachos, and noodle bowl". You'll have to do more reading to figure out how they make the crust for pizza and chips for nachos without actually doing any cooking. It all went over my head. And into my tummy. It was very delish and VERY FILLING. I could only eat 1/4 of my bowl and was stuffed for the rest of the day. Which of course did not stop me from eating a huge meatball and pasta dinner later that evening.


gina's nachos (traci, these would not be the nachos you have for breakfast)


Louise's pizza, and Pria holding a "very green drink", which was purple. I won't even post the photo of the red lentil soup.... cuz it was cooked.... and NOT RED. These Rawists need a color consultant.

my zucchini noodles ( they were all out of raw kelp noodles, darn) and no, they are not noodles, just sliced up zuch's... with carrots and pumpkin seeds with a delightful tahine dressing.

Pria

I have much to add to the blog CUZ we've had visitors... BUT I have a cold and am going to take the easy way out of blahhgging for the day.

Enjoy one of Australia's finest young fiddlers, Pria Schwall-Kearney. I'm sorry to say my camera only does 30 second videos but here she is.

You may remember........

The Gold Medal winning performance of Team S.A.G (Slots, Ann, Gina) in the rythmic blah blah blah event. Well, we finally have some competition. Well, so think they. Is sports, (and I hate to include rythmic gymnastics in that) timing is everything. So, a day and a dollar (a Loonie?) short here is the entry video from Margaret, of Bonneyville, Canada, with her teammates Louise and Pria, both of Melbourne Australia... with filming by the Wizard of Oz, Ashley.

Judge for yourself. I'm sure you will agree..... WE KEEP THE MEDALS !!!

With love for Uncle Jerry

A sad day in blog-ville today. My uncle Jerry died last night in Lansing, MI.
Our thoughts are with aunt Phyllis and all my cousins, Teri, Tim, Eric, Lisa, Mary Ellen, and Steve, and their kids.
I talked with him briefly last Sat. Interrupted his watching the MSU football game. (they won) He was excited because after that game, the Spartan basketball team was playing on tv. A great day at the Laatsch house. I would have loved to have been there.

There is a guy that walks the neighborhood. Once in a while I see him thru the windows when I'm on a machine at the gym. Reminds me of Jerry. Ball cap, khaki shorts, sneaks, white sox, not so tall, tanned, just a cool looking guy.


Laatsch family (Mary Ellen is missing from this shot)


He and Phyllis were always the biggest fans of their kids, and grandkids (and me) playing sports. We played some great hoop games in their driveway.


Sitting with Grady and showing a little leg.

Teri tries to convince him of something.. not sure he's buying.

at Eric's wedding