Stop All the Calls in the World

A friend took this pic of the alley by my house. All those lilacs on the left are mine. I'm lucky.

Last Friday I got off work, went to the Co-op and then came home and made salmon, rice pilaf with shaved almonds, beet salad, sauteed zucchini and red pepper and we had French bread. it was all lovely. We also watched Woody Allen's Sleeper. I hadn't seen it in years and it did make me laugh several times.

Lickety split.

On Saturday we got up very, very early and jogged over to Regina high school to do a 5K'ish trail race to raise money for our friend's organization. He started a foundation to help cancer survivors with their medical bills. Most of the things done to help cure cancer, can also cause cancer later on and screw up people's teeth and a lot of other things that cost tons of money, and so our friend is trying to help with those costs.

It's a great organization and the race was fun too. It was warm but misting. The Guy and I previewed the course, by slowly running/walking it and got back about 10 minutes before we had to run it. Our friend J. is another bartender at the Dublin. She worked until close and then drank until the race. She showed up reeking of alcohol and we kept making jokes about how we could get drunk for free by huffing her or licking her. She ran the race and did just fine, and then promptly went home to go to bed.

The Guy and our friend A.

The Guy and I went home after the race and got ready to ride our bikes to Riverside to see our friend, S. and his wife. We had lunch at Murphy's and then rode home.

We were pretty exhausted by the time we got home, so we basically just got some Chinese food and watched the movie, Cedar Rapids. it was fine. Nothing too memorable. I did think it was funny that they tried to make Iowa seem like it was some crazy, party state. Actually, the most memorable thing about it, is that it put that song, "Hotline" in my head. It was a amusing for about 5 minutes...

Our favorite bartender, S. and his wife and his phone.

Sunday was a very lazy day for me. I was pretty tired. I did a lot of lying around, reading a book called InZanesville, by Jo Ann Beard. She was in the non-fiction writer's workshop here and is an amazing writer. This is more of a young adult novel, about 14 year old girls trying to grow up in the Quad Cities in the early 70's. I love it so far.

The Guy spent most of the day building up a new road bike for himself. We did swim laps in the afternoon, and then got take-out Indian food and went down to the Dublin to eat it and feed our favorite bartender, S. while he worked. Our friend Bry came down and had a beer, before he and The Guy headed off to play pool and I headed off home to lie around and read my book some more. The end.

And When They Split Those Atoms, It's Hotter Than the Sun

Here is a thingamajig that waters crops in Iowa.

Coadster came home this weekend. Hurray! We tried to plan a few fun things for her to do. On Friday night, I grilled salmon for her and steak for Stinky and we had a couple of our friends over. It was a nice dinner and we had a good talk, and Coadster gave us the stuff she brought back from London for us.

The Guy relaxing with his Heidi cat.

Coadster read The Hunger Games most of the day on Saturday. I used to get a little annoyed when she would lie around and watch horrible reality TV shows when she came home to visit. She explained to me that she did so much at school, that coming home was like a vacation and that was how she decompressed. I get that. I don't like the horrible screeching from the people on reality shows in my living room all day, but I understand that's how she veg's-out. This time, it was reading The Hunger Games. She wanted to finish it before she saw the movie that night.

I cleaned the house for most of the day, while The Guy built up my time trial bike (the kind of bike you use in a triathlon). later in the afternoon, The Guy and I took our time trial bikes for a little spin. It was so fun.

That night, The Guy took me and the girls out for dinner at the Altas. we had a nice meal and got a good talk in with my daughters.

My girls at Atlas.

On Sunday, The Guy and I went to our friend E's house to help her get her bike set-up. We came home and got ready to ride. We went out to a road where we will race in about a month and then we were headed to Riverside to see our friend S., when I ran over an aluminum can and it poked a hole in my back tire. It wouldn't hold air, so I walked my bike on the side of the road in the heat of our unseasonably warm Iowa Spring, while The Guy rode as quickly as possible to our friend S.'s house. They came and rescued me and S. drove us back to our place. So, ultimately, the story had a happy ending.

I Used to Hurry a Lot. I Used to Worry a Lot.

Here's me "pretending" to look cold. It was actually windy and freezing that day.

Here is a quick overview blog post. Coadster is now in London. She is afraid to fly, so I was worried for her, but it sounds like she did just fine.

Here is a picture of me pointing to a bald eagle flying overhead.

Last weekend, The Guy and I ran the full 25K course of the race we're doing on St Patrick's Day. At least the last 5 miles of it are very technical trail running. After I was really tired, it was a big challenge to lift my legs enough to get over all of the roots and rocks on the trail. I did run the whole thing, but it REALLY kicked my ass.

The Guy showing off his new drink holster. I think he's ready for his spaghetti western now.

Saturday night we went out for dinner to a new place in town called Moon Raker's. Our friend E. met us, and we had good food, a great talk and a few drinks. I was pretty migrainey all weekend, so we went home early.

Me all splattered with road muck.

On Sunday we rode out on a gravel road course outside of Hills, Ia. It was cold and snowy and muddy, but it was a nice short ride.

That night, I made tilapia reubens for the first time. I don't think the tilapia had a strong enough taste to compete with everything else in the sandwich, but it was still good and it was worth a shot...

And She'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...

Archie adorably gnawing on me while I read my book on Sunday morning.

Oh, how I love my weekends. On Friday The Guy and I went to the store after work to buy running shoes. We have that 25K race coming up in a few weeks and we want to have our shoes worn in for a couple of weeks first. I haven't had new running shoes in 3 years, and some of those years, I was putting in about 30-40 miles a week on them. I suppose it's about time.

We went for Thai food after the store, and then home to watch The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I loved the book when I was younger. The film version is much different, but still really good. Alan Arkin is amazing as a deaf/mute. His face is so expressive.

Our favorite bartender S. giving The Guy a good, swift kick in the tuckus.

On Saturday, I woke up and lazed about for a bit and read my new book, The Tiger's Wife. I do love it so far. it takes place in what I believe is the former Yugoslavia, and possibly Hungary. It is full of folktales and stories about the Bosnian conflict.

I ran my 6.4 mile route finally and then came home and made lunch before we took a nice little nap. We woke up in time to get ready for G. and The Guy's ex to come over for dinner. I made tortellini with a creamy pesto sauce, shrimp and veggie scampi over fettucini, The Guy made the salad and we had some good bread with it. It was a lovely evening.

The Guy in a playground jail.

On Sunday morning, I lazed some more. The Guy went running and when he came back I was in the spare/reading/office/cats/Coadster's room, reading my book by the sunniest window. He brought me a tray with everything I needed to make my tea and I had the most wonderfully relaxing morning.

Here's me in the same playground jail.

In the afternoon, The Guy and I rode our bikes to Riverside. The weather was warm but very windy. I've at least been feeling stronger on the bike this year. last year, it would have killed me to ride that far in the wind.

We made it to our friend S's house and got to see all the work he and his wife have been doing on their place, then we wandered over to a place called the Icehouse to eat a late lunch and play some pool.

The shadows of ourselves riding home against the fields.

In the evening, we had cereal for dinner and watched Woody Allen's, Bananas. I hadn't seen that movie in forever. Some of the sight gags were so ridiculous that I actually did laugh out loud.

Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good

Archie thought he'd hide in Coadster's laundry bag and go back to college with her.

So, I know I didn't get around to writing about last weekend, but you can just imagine it was more, wonderful life, I'm so happy and active, blah, blah, blah. And now I can go into the same details about this weekend.

Archie "helping" The Guy put a desk together.

On Friday I got off work at 3, because it was nice out and I wanted to go running, while it was still light outside. It was heavenly.

I came home and Coadster got home from college about the same time, The Guy got home from work. I made us some salmon, and potato pancakes and steamed asparagus and we had some crusty bread from the Co-op. Coadster loves salmon, and it's not something she'll make on her own, at school.

After we ate, The Guy and Coadster and I watched, His Girl Friday. Neither Coadster or I had ever seen it before. We both found it quite entertaining. People in movies in the 40's were so quick with the witty banter, that's for sure...

My friend E. and I at the halfway point of our 10 mile run.

On Saturday I woke up and finally finished reading my book. I made French toast for breakfast and did some other general, lazing around. Both the girls went to the Quad Cities to watch a show choir competition and The Guy headed out on a bike ride.

We decided we'd go to Solon, but then extended our ride to the Sutliff Bridge. We stopped at the bar there for some greasy food and a soda, to keep us fueled enough to ride back. It was over a 50 mile bike ride - the longest I've gone since RAGBRAI.

The Guy and E. running down my favorite part of the trail.

Saturday evening we went to our friends' A. and Britt's house for dinner. We drank red wine and she made a butternut squash and portabella mushroom lasagna. It was really good. We stayed and talked and ate and drank until a little after 11. So late for us.

The Guy and I at the end of our 10 miler. We think we're hilarious...As usual.

On Sunday, I was a bit tired (I'm sure it wasn't because of the wine or anything...). I started my new book - Ann Pathett's State of Wonder. It's really good so far.

Coadster went back to school about the same time The Guy, E. and I all went to some trails by Solon for E.'s first 10 mile run. It was a beautiful day, but the trails were a bit on the mushy side. E. finished the whole run and were both very proud of her.

In the evening, we went out to play pool for free with E. I was exhausted, so my game wasn't the best. Luckily for me, both The Guy and E. scratched on the 8 ball, so I lamely one two games.

I've Got No Deeds to do. No Promises to Keep.

Here is Archie lying on (oozing over) our hot water heater.

My weekend was wonderful. On Friday night, I made pan seared sea scallops, steamed asparagus, salad and sourdough bread and then we watched Bull Durham. It was perfect.

On Saturday I got up and went running right away. It was supposed to snow/rain all day, and I thought I'd try to get a jump on it. I ended up running a little over 8 miles, but The Guy ran for at least 11 miles. Pretty amazing. We ate lunch and then made it to the pool, where we swam laps. We had to hurry and get home and take showers so we could meet my friend K. and her husband at the Dublin at 6. We had a drink and then went to a restaurant called Basta for dinner and had a really good meal and conversation.

On Sunday, We got up and I got to work. I painted as much of the quarter round as I could before I went to run. At noon, we got on our bikes to meet our friend, Bry and his girlfriend at a coffee shop in North Liberty. We had a nice visit, and then they headed home and we rode further. We got 34.5 miles in altogether.

I picked up Stinky from work and got us some take-out Chinese food. We ate quickly and then headed to the Hilltop to watched the Superbowl with some friends. I wasn't all that interested in the game, but The Guy and I did shoot a couple of games of pool and I talked to some folks and we still got home around 9. Not too shabby, I'd say.

She's Breathing Quiet and Smooth

Here are a series of pics of me seemingly squishing other people's heads. I quite like them.

This weekend was nice. We had a few plans and then they changed...As plans sometimes do. I ended up taking The Guy out for Thai food on Friday night and then we went home and watched Fellini's La Strada. I hadn't seen it in 20 years, and I didn't remember it being quite so sad.

Even young children aren't safe...

On Saturday morning, we got a lot done around the house. I finally finished painting the trim in Coadster's old room and The Guy got almost everything out of his storage space. Sure, things are a bit crowded in our garage right now, but we'll get it all whittled down and put away or taken away. It's just nice to have it all at home for The Guy to easily work on now.

In the afternoon, our friend E. came over and The Guy took us out on a trail run. We went all through Hickory Hill Park and then out the other side and ran for however many more miles. We estimated that we ran around 8 miles altogether. Which is about half of what we're going to be racing in the middle of March, but it was nice that we knew we could at least do that.

In the evening we met back up with E and our friend Eggo and her husband at The Mill for pizza and beer. After running off about 900 calories, we figured we could load up a little. Around 8 we headed over to some other friends to play a game called Mad Gab. Of course, the kids who were there, were much better at it than any of the adults.

Oh, squishing heads can make some people so sad.

Sunday was another beautiful day. I wasn't feeling very well and was a bit migrainey, so I didn't get much done in the morning. I did run again, for about 4 miles in the afternoon. The Guy rode his bike for a couple of hours in there too.

In the evening, The Guy went to play pool with his friend Bry and I hung out at home and read my book. I'm currently reading The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides. Right now it takes place in 1982. It reminds me a lot of what I thought college would be like from reading too many writers' experiences in literature, but never was for me.

In a Country Where They Turn Back Time

Here is pretty Heidi, all cute and sleeping.

I guess it's weekend synopsis post day today. Wanna hear it? Here is is:

Friday night was nice and mellow. We made dinner and then I got Stinky some Chinese take-out and a DVD and drove her to her friend's house, so they could have a girl's night. I got home and The Guy and I watched Good Bye Lenin! I really enjoyed it.

Me making the X with my ski poles. I'm not quite sure what that was for...

On Saturday, we went to Lake McBride to ski. The snow wasn't great, but we've been a little desperate lately. I felt like I was doing a little more awkward walking on the snow then fluidly gliding. After about an hour and a half, I was feeling a little migrainy. After last week, we didn't want to push it, so we went out for Mexican food for lunch and then came home and showered and took what turned out to be a two and a half hour nap. Jaysus!

The Guy under a very impressive tree.

After we woke-up, it was clear we weren't going to get any chores done around the house, so we headed over to the Dublin, to play some pool, have a drink and wait for Stinky to get off work. We decided on Chinese take-out. Apparently, Stinky was up for it a second night in a row and then we tried to make her hang out with us, but watching The Town. She did grace us with an hour of her time, but alas, she had better things to do and off she went with one of her friends.

A Grant Wood homage in Stone City, Iowa.

On Sunday morning, we were desperately trying to find somewhere to ski. We knew the temps were rising and there was some weird misting, that would wreak havoc on our shoddy snow. The Guy found a place outside of Stone City (an hour away) that looked like our best bet.

We drove there and some of the country roads were pretty slick, but manageable. The trails were wonderful, though. We skied for almost two hours, but it started getting sticky and hard to glide on, so we bagged it and headed into the town of Stone City.

The General Store in Stone City.

We stopped at the General store for lunch and beer. It was so nice and quaint and the staff was really nice. We will definitely come back to ski again this Winter and bike in the Summer.

The blurry but cozy pub with the wood burning fireplace.

We got home and putzed around the the house. I went to my friend G's for a bit and then picked up Stinky from work. We had salmon quesadillas (shut-up. The salmon was leftover and they were actually pretty good) and veggie tamales for dinner and then watched the South Korean movie, The Host. It was so bizarre but so good.

So Will You Catch Me Now I'm Falling

The Guy at the top of the hill I was about ready to herring bone up.

This three day weekend was lovely for the most part. On Friday we had some people over for fish tacos. We ate and drank and talked and knew it was time to go to bed after our friend S.'s boyfriend started doing his Tom Waits impersonation and we couldn't stop laughing.

On Saturday, we got up and The Guy went to the cross-country ski trails and I stayed home and did a work-out for an hour on the bike trainer. He came back with good news. There was enough snow to ski on. We headed to the trails and skied until it got dark. It was so very nice.

We stopped at the Dublin for a drink and a pool game or two on the way home. I actually won my first pool game ever. Yea!

I had made up a pan of lasagna before we left to ski, so all I had to do was put it in the oven and put the beet salad together and we were ready to eat. We watched Midnight in Paris. Woody
Allen can be pretty hit and miss with me, but I thought this movie was just good escapism.


The Guy all lousy with cats. Archie wants to touch Heidi with his paw so badly, but he doesn't want her to get up and move away either. Poor guy.

We went skiing bright and early on Sunday morning, since we knew that the snow was going to melt by afternoon. Of course, I forgot how exhausted I'd be after working-out for 3 hours the day before. By the time we had skied for almost 2 1/2 more hours, I was so tired that I forgot all function or form and fell hard on my back down a hill. I heard a loud cracking sound from my neck and my left arm suddenly felt very, very hot. I was dizzy, but I could move my fingers, so I got up and slowly, VERY slowly, skied back to where we were parked. It was pretty scary.

The Guy took me out for sushi for lunch, but we decided to nix our later afternoon swimming plans and just took a nap instead. We had leftover lasagna for dinner and then The Guy went to play pool with his friend Bry, while I laid around on the couch and read my Prohibition book.

Yesterday I woke up sore and had some whiplash. Luckily, I didn't have to go to work yesterday. I needed the rest. I'm taking at least another recovery day, before I try to work-out again. It's not hard to listen to your body, when it's screaming at you, is it?

I'd Rather be a Comma Than a Full Stop.

The asshole, peaking out from the kitchen sink.

Winter finally came down hard on us Iowans yesterday. Making up for lost time, I suppose. It snowed and got blustery and cold.

The Guy and I shoveled snow right after work, and then we ordered pizza. We drank a couple of glasses of wine and watched The African Queen. I do like watching movies that take place in extreme heat when it is ridiculously cold outside. I hadn't seen the movie since I was a kid, and I had forgotten how deliciously schmaltzy it was.

The asshole in a more pensive state.

I am happy to report that Archie did let me sleep last night. I gave each of the cats a small handful of food before I went to bed and locked them out of our room. I heard Archie meow at one point, but ignored him and he stopped once he realized he wasn't getting what he wanted. Whew!

This weekend is the first in a while where we don't have big things planned. We are having a few people over tonight for fish tacos and frijoles. The rest of the weekend should be pretty mellow...I hope. I want to swim and ride the trainer and run and if we get really lucky, we might actually be able to cross-country ski. My other big goal is to finally paint the trim in the spare bedroom and read as much of my book, Last Call (about Prohibition) as possible. Thank the gods and goddesses, I have three days off to try and do all of this.

And My Time Was Running Wild

This is what the course looked like - all frozen ruts. Really tough to ride on.

This weekend The Guy competed in Cyclocross Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin. He actually finished 7 places higher than predicted. Which was great.

The Guy taking the first hill.

We drove to Madison after work and went straight to Pizza Brutta to eat. After that we headed to my brother's house. He was away on vacation, so we had the place to ourselves...Well, if you don't count the dog and cats. Basically, we took care of the pets and then went to bed.

The obligatory cheese head. This is Wisconsin, after all.

We woke up early on Saturday and headed to the park. It was cold and after the previous muddy days, all the ruts had frozen and were so hard, they were popping people's tires right and left, plus people were sliding and crashing all over the place. The Guy said he crashed more in that one race than in all the other races this season combined.

The winner of The Guy's race and a former mountain bike Olympian athlete.

After the race, we met my oldest sister at her townhouse. I had never seen it before and it was very nice. We all went out for lunch at an Indian restaurant that had the best buffet I'd ever seen. So much good food.

Me taking more photos of myself next to things with bigger cheeks than mine.

We drove back to Iowa City and showered and then I picked up Stinky and some take-out sushi. After we ate, we decided to finally watch Singin' in the Rain. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid. What a fun movie.

The Guy shooting pool at the Ice House in Riverside, Ia.

On Sunday I woke and had a very leisurely morning. I read some and took a long hot bath and then by 12:30, The Guy and I were on our bikes, headed for Riverside, the future birthplace of James Tiberius Kirk. We had a nice ride and when we got there, we hung out at the Ice House and ate lunch, had a couple of pints and played a few games of pool. I tried to ride pretty hard on the way home, to see if I was getting stronger from my trainer work-outs. I did feel stronger. I guess we'll see what happens when I race again in the Spring.

On Sunday night, we watched the Exorcist. The last time I saw it was in 1983. The only parts I really remembered about it where the demon possessed Linda Blair scenes. It still was able to creep me out, all these years later.

I hope you all had a Linda Blairless weekend.

I walked Down the Primrose Path

Riding into Hills on New Year's Eve day.

Sooo, I've been told I have this thing called a blog? And that I might want to actually write in it again? Yeah. That. Anyway, here goes:

Archie helping us play Twister on New Year's Eve.

New Year's weekend was all so very nice. On Friday we went to a friend's house. They were planning on watching the Hawkeye bowl game. We came for the food, basically and played frisbee golf on his Playstation 3. I'm better at real frisbee golf - which still isn't saying anything.

Us ringing in the Irish new year at 6.

On Saturday we woke up and lounged around the house. We met some friends for a New Year's Eve bike ride at noon. It was 50 degrees but ridiculously windy. Luckily, we had a tail wind on the way home.

The Guy and some friends showing off their steppin'-out shoes.

We came back from the ride, took a quick nap, and then headed out again for the Irish New Year. It was packed at the Dublin, but I got to see a mess of people and had one drink and then we scurried back to make the fondue and other food.

Fondue'ing and fondon't'ing.

We ended up with about 10 guests and played Pictionary, Twister and Battleship. I had a migraine for most of the day and evening and shortly after midnight, I finally had to go to bed. The Guy stayed up with the few guests who lived within stumbling distance from their homes and therefore stayed until around 2. A good time seemed to be had by all.

The cats vying for the best birdwatching spot on the couch.

I woke up on the first day of the New Year with a lingering headache. The Guy was wonderful and did all the cleaning-up from the party. I did manage to make a delicious breakfast and then spent the rest of the day reading. I finished Swamplandia! and started Truth and Beauty a Friendship, by Ann Patchett. We also watched the movie Cowboys and Aliens. My friend Toby had a small part in it and I got t see him get dragged away by horses. The movie was much better than I thought it would be.

I hope all of your New Year's were just as wonderful as mine, but migraine free.

We Love All the People and We Love to Rock the House

Here is the mall, taken from the bowels of some annoying teen clothing store where they played a song that sampled the Clash's "Revolution Rock". Wow.

Well, kids it looks like we're reaching the end of another year. This year was so great, I can only be excited about next year.

Our plans for New Year's Eve look like this: We will try to go for a bike ride during the day, since it's supposed to be 50 degrees again. Then hit the Dublin Underground for Irish New year at 6. We'll head home by 7 and have a few people over to play board games and eat fun snacks - including fondue. I'll let you know if we actually stay awake for the American New Year at midnight.

May next year be even better than this year for all y'all.

It's the Smiling on the Package, It's the Faces in the Sand

Here is some Christmas Eve graffiti I saw when I was running.


Christmas weekend was good. On Friday we ate shrimp scampi pasta and watched the movie The Family Stone.

On Saturday, I got up and went running. The girls and I scurried around getting ready to go to Ottumwa. We got to see my sister's family - which was the main reason we go down there. Her kids were fun and all hopped up about the holiday.

We headed home a little later than I wanted, but made it home before 10. The Guy got home from his mom's house about 2 seconds before us, so we all talked about our separate celebrations and then went to bed.

The Guy and I woke up on Christmas day and waited for the girls to get up...And waited, and waited...Finally, we had French toast for breakfast. The Guy was feeling like he was catching a cold, so he took a little nap. While he was asleep, the girls finally got up and went through their stockings. They seemed quite happy with what they found in there.

The Guy woke up and the girls gave us their gifts. Stinky painted us a picture to hang in the living room, and Coadster bought us books on the history of Prohibition, a book about the perfect bike and a biography of Kurt Vonnegut. She knows us well.

The Guy's mom stopped over after she got out of church, and we all went out for sushi lunch together. It was very nice, and we stuffed ourselves. I tried to run a couple hours later, but my belly still wouldn't let me. Instead, I opted to lie around and read my book Swamplandia! It is pretty bizarre and wonderful.

Later in the evening, my friend G. called to tell me stories of her evening out at the bar on Christmas Eve. About halfway through, I asked her if she just didn't want to come over and have dinner with us. it wasn't anything special, just grilled cheese and tomato or chicken noodle soup, but she ate with us anyway.

We had a great talk and laughed a ton before we lost G. to the bar again. We finished the night by watching the movie, Heathers. Both the girls had a great time making fun of all the 80'sness about it. By the end of the holiday weekend, I felt like we had covered all the bases.