Rust Never Sleeps, and Neither Does Mold...

Over the fence behind our house the cedars trees are dying.  You can tell that the trees on either side now don't look too good either.  My guess is some kind of disease or mold is killing the poor trees.  When we first moved in they were a little higher than the fence.

Karyl thinks it will be next May or June before the family will deal with these trees.  She also postulates that our "Master Garderner" Gordon, whose yard is a series of piles that the local mice just love, may help our neighbors deal with this.

I am going to say the glass is half full and that by November our neighbors will cut the down.  But that is nuts, it will be cold by then, and I don't think this family is quick to act (see photo for Evidence #1).

Dumb Butts Abound...

So there are too many bikes in the garage, and I don't ride the Lemond Tourmalet.  Don't ask me why I don't ride it; it is beautiful - steel, light and fast.  57 centimeters of the best bike made here in the U.S.  But I never enjoyed riding it that much.

So off to Craigslist we go.  A couple of hits but people back out and find other bikes.  Finally I have a  dad and son who are interested in the bike.  So one night I drive over to the University district and show the bike to the dad.  He likes it and tells me that his college-student son had his Cannondale stolen and so they are looking for a replacement.  I tell him that I wouldn't buy this bike for a college student because it will be gone in a New York minute. The dad tells me that his son plans on locking it up.  Oh, well then that is different because we all know that thieves never steal locked bikes.  Moron.

So off to camp I go, and the dad comes and buys the bike from Karyl.  He gives Karyl the same speech about buying the bike for his college age son.  Karyl is smarter than I am and she just nods thinking, "Two days. Two days before the bike is gone."

So we sold the bike to the family of Morons.  I hate to see it go, but that is life...

Are You Kidding Me....!

Yesterday I went mountain biking with Benton and Jon R.  I had never been mountain biking before, although I know it can be dangerous, so I was mildly apprehensive at the start.

We were biking a Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve in the South Metro.  The adventure begins with a nice ride on a hard packed trail through a scenic meadow.  "Okay", I say to myself, "I can do this".

And then we entered the woods....

I didn't bring a camera, so I have no photographic proof of the terror that ensued.  The bridge to the right is something that I actually did try (and make it across - which if you need proof of divine intervention - there it is).  The trail is full of dips and turns and trees and there is a real art form to staying off the brakes and just rolling through.  I was very conservative in my ride through the park.  I stepped around a few of the boulders, but I did make it over a few logs.  I had two excellent teachers who were very patient with me.

The larger question, is why do people do this in the name of recreation.  I can't readily imagine doing this from week to week.  I am sure I would get better, but I am not sure that my nervous system needs that kind of terrorizing.

Wow, was I ever happy to get home and hug my loving wife...

Wednesday at BU

Here we are, jammed into a cab to move from the Holiday Inn to BU.  It has been raining hard all morning, so we are quite happy to be in a cab.  

Here we are venturing down Babcock Street on our way to a new beginning.

After we pull up at the dorm Maura steps out and a local cob goes right after her for wearing a Yankee jacket and hat.  And so it begins....

The girls had to sign for their keys, and then it is up in the elevator.  Here we have just walked in to see how it all looks.

Really.  Only two toilets on the whole floor for the girls.  This seems a bit anachronistic, or just poor planning.

Next it was off to Target.  Takle was our cabbie and he was very patient with us.  He was also a star from coming back to the Watertown Mall to pick us up with our haul or lamps, towels, et al... Takle is a father of three who works at Seven Eleven in the morning and then drives a cab from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.  He is trying to save money to bring his family of two girls and a boy here.

Here we are using the laundry cart to haul our Target purchases up to the dorm room.  Let the organizing begin...

Here is Grace, with bed made, getting her electronic purchases all set up.  I like the wood on the walls--much better than looking at cinder block brick.

All right girls, the ball is in your court.  Have fun, make good decisions, and "Go for it" (as we used to say way back in the 1970's...

Sixty Seven

This is a picture of Harriett when she was a young and defiant woman.  Today would have been her 67th birthday if my math is correct.  

Last night Karyl and Susan were talking about Madmen and the culture of the early 1960's.  At one point, Karyl pauses and says, "I still miss Harriett", and I think that pretty well sums up how we all feel.

I don't miss Harriett's interactions with Gaylord, as I think Harriett was pretty hard on Gaylord, but other than that - we miss her a lot.

Happy Birthday Harriett.

Beantown in the Rain...

Up at four in the morning, on the plane by 6:30 and wheels up by 7:12 a.m.  After circling Boston for quite awhile we landed and navigated our way to 1200 Beacon Street and the Holiday Inn.  We are already seeing lots of parents and kids around.  I don't know how busy tomorrow is going to be.

After we arrived Karyl and I braced the mist/light rain and walked up to Harvard street, where we had lunch at an artsy place called The Regal Begal.   Here is the beer I had for lunch.  Very good.
 Then it was across the street for good ice cream at J.P. Licks.  We then walked down Babcock street to the dorm Maura and Grace are going to stay in.  While I was showing Karyl the athletic field, we discovered this plaque.  The Boston Braves used to play baseball here.  How cool is that.  Outstanding.

After walking down Commonwealth to the bookstore and the back up Beacon to the hotel we collapsed and napped for an hour or so before taking off to Logan to meet the girls.  We had more than our fair share of trouble finding the girls; who knew that Terminal B had two parts.

We all made it back down to the hotel by 9:00 tonight and then we headed off to the Elephant Walk for some some gluten-free dinner.  The Cambodian food was solid to impressive.  And finally, another walk in the rain....thanks goodness for the new raincoat...

Fingers crossed that tomorrow goes as well.

A Real Saturday...

For the first time all summer, since school was out, I don't have to go work at the bike shop today.  I actually get to spend time at home and do something with Karyl.  As much as I love the bike shop, I am psyched to have a weekend at home to do some work around here.

Yesterday I spent three hours at the bike shop putting together a new bike.  Earlier this summer I bought a frame (huge mistake) and so I have been collecting parts for the last several weeks.  I came very close to finishing the project, but I need to get a different sized rotor for my back brake to work.  After all the work of collecting parts (and spending a touch more than I wanted) I now get to see if the new bike will be fun to ride or a "what-was-I-thinking" project.

This past week I have been working at school to get the new school year up and running.  It was a great feeling to get back to the classroom and start to fit the puzzle pieces together again.  It will be fun to see everyone on Monday, and then on Tuesday we head to Boston to get Maura and Grace all set for their first year of college.  Quite the week.

More later...