Renovation Updates

Despite lousy, freezing, raining, snowy weather, Brian and his troops are making huge progress. Basic plumbing is in and passed inspection. The framework has passed inspection. The "sparkies" are in doing their thing now, and presumably will pass electrical inspection. Soon the insulation (a novelty for this house) will be in. Same guys will put in some vapor barrier stuff in crawl space. We hope to bring them back to do same to the real crawl space, something that's been on the "to do" list since we bought this place 13 years ago. Then drywall goes up. Then painting begins. Or is it the tile guy then painting?? whatever.

Brian took Gina and I on a field trip last week. We got to ride in his big truck. We went to a stone slab fabricator place. Looking for seconds/leftover piece for the laundry counter. Found a great one. And it was fun to see how that shop operates, (templates for sinks, bullnosing, etc) Fancy hi tech stone cutting machinery. Then we went off to look at some Marmoleum. Floor stuff that is now Gina's new fun project....designing the pattern for the tile pieces. She's got some great colors and scheme going. Yesterday Brian got to see how Gina operates when designing. I often find myself being measured while sitting, lying down - how far to reach for light switch? where would my arms be while soaking in tub? In order to visualize things she uses 'found objects' to see how a design will work ( like will the bucket fit in this size sink? how far to reach for faucet, etc) He caught on quickly and was soon participating using a sponge to demonstrate how close the tile backsplash would be to sink edge. My job is once we know some estimated dimensions then I get to Google til I find the undermount stainless steel 10" deep sink. Or watertank dimensions or faucets or heaters or light fixtures....



She'll take this one, please.


Disaster zone.


New hot water heater... showers for hours !


Brian reads the plans.


World famous "Measurer"

Did I Forget ?

That our California buddies were in town for the holidays???

And I didn't get any good shots of Annalise, sheesh. dumb. But it's official now. A.B.B. is taller than me. That only took 14 years, 345 days. They'll be back in a day or two, after carousing in Portland for the New Years. Oh, wait, I did get one good one.


Annalise B.-Brown and her cousin Charlie Brown


What fun is having a blog if I can't post photos of Traci's butt ?


Happy New Year.

Happy New Year !

Post race beer garden. UM hats ! this photo taken by a couple of Buckeyes ! how weird is that?

Ahhh, a refreshing dip in Lake Washington. water was warmer than the air.

Ten minutes to game time.... just enough time to blog about this morning's race. The Resolution Run, Trip n Drip version. It's a 5K. You can choose to jump in the lake or not. You know we do. Gina is still on injured list so she graciously took photos for the blog.

Tooting horns here.. unofficially, I took 1st place in 50 yr old Drip division with a 23:45 time.

GO BLUE !

Christmas means presents !

Yes, yes, we went to church, too. But I can't take photos at Mass.


the "off list" gift. nicely done Susie.


The rookie chef (the print says something about cooking with wine, or while drinking wine)


Just wondering if any of these is a jigsaw puzzle.


Susie's thinking of doing her own blog. you go girl.


Steve's new Kenworth chapeau.


Ann's new biking sleeves. Yes, just the sleeves.


Susie's new slippers, and those are festive xmas sox she has on. you go girl.


Scott's new bad-ass drill.

Boys fighting over the toys. (tools)
It's not the holidays without a little squabble.

Did I say it was Christmas ?

That must mean Marilyn's cookies are baked and decorated and ready for consumption.


Steve prays to the beef gods for medium rare prime rib.


This is a festive photo of the uneaten green jello.


Happy Holidays from the Cookie Chef.


The fruits of her labors.


Green beans, Tori Spelling style. aka, wrapped in the elixir of life. NO, not the rum, the BACON !
although, that rum did spice up the egg nog nicely.

Dedicated Runners

Well, we spent a few days in Wapato, WA for the Christmas holiday. And the drive over the mtn. was fine, but there was a ton of snow in Wapato. But that doesn't mean the training stops... oh no... We grabbed the snow shovel and on Sunday we went to the high school and got a little exercise as we shovelled off a lane all the way around the track. Great ! we are now all set to run the next day. UNLESS a freezing rain occurs during the night, making all un-snowy surfaces more like an ice rink... rats. But that doesn't mean the training stops...oh no... we got a little running in, finding the footing to be a bit safer in the snow so we ran next to the nicely shovelled lane. And hey, look, is that Gina running? yes, she gave herself a little Christmas present. No, she shouldn't have, but it was Christmas, afterall. Give a little.

Seattle Half Marathon Report

I love requests !! thanks Pam.

So, you might recall a month or so ago I was hoping for a finishing time of "anything BUT 1 hour 47 minutes and odd seconds" . The last several years have all been that. So, long story short (you wish) I ran a 1:46:26. Yahoo ! good for 2nd place in my age group. That is the highest I've placed in this race.

It's been a while and we've had some even "better" weather recently, but you might recall that this Thanksgiving weekend was, as usual, WET & COLD. But WETTER & COLDER THAN USUAL. Lesley and I arrived at the race in typical ATR style.... very early... the better to warm up and pee a hundred times. But it was so WET & COLD we sat in the car for the most of the time. It was trying to snow out and I wished it would. Better snow than huge freezing rain. But freezing rain is what we got.

Coach Lesley ran the race with me to help pace me. Thank God, cuz at mile 8 I was ready to take anytime OVER 1:47. She did not let that happen. We started out at just under 8:00 pace trying to not go out too fast but I do need to "bank" some time in the first half of the race before it gets too hilly. The rain subsided, in the I-90 tunnel. :) actually, it was ok along Lk. Washington, but the rain returned by Madison Park, and the hills. Gina was hanging out at 23rd Ave. I saw her just after fording a stream. So much for the "keep the shoes dry" efforts. This spot is the only place on the route that the Metro buses are allowed to cross the runners' path. As Gina waited for us she witnessed the ingenious system that is used. Pylons and crime scene tape, that we've always seen but wondered why it was there. Remind me to tell you about it.

I missed my buddy Carmel in Interlochen but she may have been seeking shelter under a tree. And all the fans in rain gear were anonymous. What a trooper for being out there, though. Thanks Carmel ! As we ran along parallel but beneath the freeway we saw big showers of water pour down from the cars above going thru puddles. Thankfully we did not get one of those early douches.

About this time I was fading, but Coach was having none of it. I was wearing my billboard T-shirt "Coach Lesley.com" so couldn't let the brand name down. She pretty much verbally drug me thru the past couple miles. In the finish line photos you can see her eyes directed towards the clock, WE HAD TO BEAT 1:47. And we did, even my gun time was 1:47:56 .

We waited a couple minutes hoping to see Karen Buttram finish, figuring she'd be right behind us, but we were so chilled to the bone that standing still was not an option. We did cross paths a few minutes later at clothing pickup and got to trade a few comments on the day. Blaspheming the weather gods.

As I mentioned, 2nd is the highest I've placed in this race. (the weiner was 4 or 5 minutes ahead of me) I'm usually in top 10, closer to 10, but my theory is those faster 50 yr.olds took one look at the weather, knew it would hamper their times, and went back to bed. You snooze, you lose.

Best part of the day.... the hot tub and then 5 hours later boarding a plane for Maui.
Worst part.... for the first time in 12 years Gina did not race. Damn those feet!

For those of you with # fetishes, here are the mile splits.
Gotta love that Mile #11. It saved the day. I'll spare you the Heart Rates details.

8:36.8 (minus 20 seconds to start line)
15:35.9 (miles 2 & 3)
8:01.6
8:06.8
7:51.8
8:19.9
9:05.7
8:10.4
9:02.3
7:16.8 (must have been down hill)
7:57.9
8:38.5 (mile 13.1)

Remodel

While we were gone, Brian and Randy got a lot done.. even though weather conditions were lousy. On the 19 degree day, they had to dig the ditch to lay some new foundation, or whatever they call it. They were going to pour cement into it. Randy said it was like digging thru permafrost.

We felt bad for them... brought them some maui chocolates to enjoy.

We've got another 2 feet added to the house. WOW ! Expansion-city.

Of course, they left on Friday saying "think about a cathedral ceiling" . Just to get Gina's panties into a bundle. She has thought about it, even tried drawing some plans, but it just is not going to happen. Not needed. They think it would make for a great " TV room " . It's the bedroom. And that change would impact the pillars, and this whole remodel is about the tub and pillars ! :)

And I love catching them in the cell phone act. All contractors " Man your Phone" !

And our new roommate, Charlie Brown. Isn't he cute? I got him for Gina's birthday. She's a big fan of the C.B. Christmas show. He had to room over at Val & Kathy's house for a month, as Ifound him but had no where to keep him secret. Every inch of our house is used for storing all the stuff that came out of the remodel side.

He makes us smile everytime we look at him. I think everyone should have one , the more smiling the better.

Turkey Day in Wapato

A few photo-licious moments. To complement the delicious meal.

And as usual, they are not in proper order cuz this blogger just cannot figure out the upload gig, or to cut and paste. Sounds like a new years resolution.



Marilyn drinks to celebrate Scott doing the dishes.


Susie foils the camera operator.


Another picture of Scott doing dishes. It really must have happened.


The beautiful snow on the drive home.


Steve polishes off a bit more turkey. He's looking for leftover skin to make a heartattack sandwich.


Gina gets a few miles in, indoors. Thinking of Ashley.


Donovan makes an appearance !


On Wed., Slots & Griggey get a nap after making pies, stuffing, etc.


Gina claims to have made this fine piece of pottery.


Ann comes out from behind the lens. I didn't get the memo on "to wear a blue or grey shirt"

And So It Begins

The before photos.


the new pantry is the dining room. our stash of wine, gatorade, chips, water, rice, salad dressing, and more wine, are good. oh, and the earthquake backpack. :)


a last minute sweep by the designer/planner extraordinaire


tub / storage area. this tub never say the light of day, for obvious reasons and that yellow shower curtain came with the house.


i will miss that loverly cheap pink tile, and the "crappy" toilet, and slow sink faucets, "why is the water brown?"


love the cabinet doors that never closed, and how about that earthquake proofing rubberband on the water tank?

Injury Update

You may have noticed that there hasn't been mention of my running buddy lately. Gina has a bad case of plantar fasciitus (sp?). OK, she's been having some foot pain since January but she fought thru it to train for the half ironman. And she was on her way to a good birthday half marathon, but after the pride race the left foot felt REALLY BAD. So bad that she stopped her training. OK, stopped running. She is still spinning and erg-ing. And on race days she goes to the gym and puts in a workout of comparable exertion.

She finally got in to see the rundoctor.com, the dude who diagnosed my foot ache and gave me the drugs for my foot problem. Of course he prescribed the same stuff. Said it was classic P F ( i don't want to misspell it again) She has been icing religiously, taking the prescription ibuprofen and rubbing the 'clear' on her feet. And wearing the splints each night, and part of the day. She thinks it's getting better. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Hey !

I thought this was a running blog, enough with the costume pictures.

In case you're keeping track of these things... I ran in the Dawg Dash 10K. 48:00 good enough for a 2nd place finish. Someone named Norva (?) aged up and kicked my butt with a 46:29. I hope she's happy this year cuz we all know who is aging up to the 50's next year...... Karen Buttram, speaking of upcoming butt kickings.

Val, Pam and Kathy all ran the 5K version. Val 23:05 was 2nd in her group by just a few seconds. She chased an 11 yr old to the finish line, but by chip time she beat that kid by one second. see the teensy tiny photo.

Pam Banks won the "UW Women's Basketball Team Alumni Who Never Train" division. Although she did it in stealth style. Somehow didn't make the results sheet.

Kathy Hastings won the division for good(and good looking) sports. And followed that up the next weekend in the Pumpkin Push. Another 5K.

This time I just wanted to be near Val and her 7:30 pace. It worked out well. She led me up the hill. I passed on the downhill, looking to catch old Judy Fisher. And I say old with the deepest respect. I can only dream of running these paces when I'm 63 years old. Anyway at some point Val told me to go for it, "sprint!" she says. Excuse me, what do you think I'm doing?

A different little girl (well, 13) was near us at the start. She declared she wanted to run a 21:00. We backed off. And sure enough she did it. 5th overall.

And where was Karen? oops, motivated by hearing the starting gun while still in potties, she ran a super fast race thru the costumed crowds.

In addition to the previously mentioned spin class today I had a tough track workout. Made extra fun by the nice weather melting the track. Nothing like 5# clumps of clay stuck to your shoe when trying to nail that 1200. All the 5K and 10K races are done. Now less than a month to get ready to run long and fast. I have some long tempo runs coming up. Anybody wanna run 10 quick ones on Saturday?

Spinning Freaks

Long gone are the days of Halloween parties with excessive drinking, eating, and dancing....
and thank God there were no digital cameras and blogs back in those days.

Now we go to the spinning class as a reason to don costumes (and if i can get the photo feature working I'll upload but it's fighting me right now)

ahh, there we are.

OK, Val, we know "twins !" it's just easier thinking of one costume.

And now that I have finished dinner, I should qualify the above statement. There might be the occassional excessive drinking and eating (rarely dancing). It just doesn't happen on Halloween.