Pudgy Cyclist that Loves Climbing

Egg and Spinach Stuffed Meatloaf

2011-09-06T20:46:00.004-04:00

Awesome recipe and easy to make; my best meatloaf yet. Picture credit to Saveur.com (Todd Coleman) magazine and the recipe, too. Of course I improvised because I don't like to waste (used the crust-minus one slice), no mortadella available, lazy so I chopped the onions not minced, didn't have garlic, no nutmeg either, and used chicken broth instead of beef. The chardonnay was pretty yummy for the white wine. Ober loves meatloaf, I love eggs and spinach. Perfect mix.

Serves 4

3 slices crustless white bread

Kosher salt, to taste

16 oz. spinach leaves, stemmed

12 oz. ground beef chuck

12 oz. ground pork

4 oz. thinly sliced mortadella, minced

1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves

1⁄4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 3 hard-boiled eggs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, minced

Freshly ground black pepper,  to taste

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1⁄2 cup beef broth

1⁄2 cup white wine

1. Tear bread into small pieces and transfer to bowl of food processor. Process until finely ground; set aside. Bring a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, 15–30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer spinach to a bowl of ice water. Drain spinach and squeeze it with your hands to remove excess water. Set spinach aside.

2. Heat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the beef, pork, mortadella, cheese, rosemary, nutmeg, beaten eggs, garlic, and onions, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer half of the meat mixture to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Using your hands, form meat mixture into a 4" x 8" rectangle about 1" thick. Arrange half of the spinach on top of rectangle in a 2"-wide strip down the middle. Arrange the hard-boiled eggs end to end on top of the strip of spinach, and top eggs with remaining spinach. Using your hands, shape the remaining meat mixture on a sheet of parchment paper into a rectangle roughly 4" x 8" and lay it over the spinach, eggs, and meat. Press the meat gently around the eggs to form a uniform loaf, pinching top half of meat together with bottom half and smoothing any seams.

3. Brush meat loaf with oil and bake for 30 minutes. Pour in broth and wine and continue cooking meat loaf, basting every 10 minutes or so with liquid, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the loaf registers 155°, about 20 minutes more. Using a spatula, transfer meat loaf to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Strain cooking liquid; set aside. To serve, cut meat loaf into thick slices, transfer to a serving platter, and spoon some of the reserved cooking liquid over the top.

Oak Park + Frank Lloyd Wright

2011-05-14T06:17:00.011-04:00

Our last day in Chicago... Oak Park Neighborhood. All these houses are designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Taking a tour of the neighborhood and Frank's house are a must do when you are in town. He was a very fascinating man. Now I am off on another adventure to Paris and Belgium!!

House with the Fire Place that caught Fire.

Tree of life.

Chicago Marathon 10-10-10

2011-05-13T22:09:00.013-04:00

The Third Mile Leaders

Two chasers running on air
Bigger group of chasers

The masses... Just amazing to watch. I am glad I changed my mind about watching the Marathon - LIVE.
Hand cycles

Famous Olympian - won gold at the 1st Women's Olympic Marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Blogging on Chicago

2011-05-10T07:10:00.006-04:00

So are you asking yourself, Is she now consistently blogging? Will she keep it up? I can tell you - hopefully, but not as good as this. I have a break from schoolwork, I have a lull at work (sort of) and I need to catch up on my travels as I am taking another vacation soon!!! I actually have a lot on my plate as I am helping organize a bicycle race for June 19th, on a board that has a nature camp for girls that begins June 20th, I begin a summer class on June 12th (ooo! gotta get my books) and and...

But back to Chicago. I want to go back to Chicago. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to eat my way around Chicago. But we barely scraped the surface of all the great places to eat, the museums, galleries, etc. After our amazingly tiring stroll along the riverwalk, we ready ourselves for dinner.

We had to satisfy the meat lovers on the trip so I picked Wildfire. Even though it is a chain restaurant (mainly in Illinois), it had the ambiance of the 1940s gangster environment. We went all out; appetizers, wine, beer, entrees, coffee and dessert! Just like a gangster. Everything was great. We almost ordered another entree of the Braised special to share because it was so good. Two of us ordered that meal, too, but we did not allow our senses to get out of control as we were all totally stuffed. The other entrees were prime rib and Diane rib steak.

Saturday in Chicago

2011-05-09T21:17:00.005-04:00

Chicago Marathon October 10, 2010Honorary Jack Brickhouse Way
The couple just hopped off the minibus... She was all about smiling. Lovely!!
Like I said, the boat did not take us far so we now are on the other side of the river walking back to the hotel - Trump Plaza from another angle. I think this is the project the winner from the first season of The Apprentice managed building.
Marina Way. I would suck at parking my car in that parking lot.

View from our hotel room.

Chicago Pictures

2011-05-08T14:34:00.007-04:00

Beautiful subway steps.

After Hot Chocolate, we walked along the Riverwalk down towards the Navy Pier but my little feet couldn't handle the walk so we made it as far as the Breakwater access/docking area.

Marina City

Trump Plaza
Peace Statues
Where my little feet couldn't go any more... And Brad was tired from walking, too. We sat on a bench with this view.

We then took a river boat as we were not prepared for all the walking. Even though we knew we would be walking and doing the transit, we cracked - I cracked. It was actually warmer than usual for October with temperatures in the 80s so I has comfortable Dansko sandals but they were not good for walking. I ended up going barefoot!! We must have been zapped from the heat as there wasn't time to be jet lagged. So we ended up on a boat ride that really only knocked off a few blocks from our walk.

Birthday Trip to Chi-town!

2011-05-08T13:34:00.013-04:00

Last year my birthday gift was a long weekend to Chicago. The summer is racing season so we made the trip to Chi-town in October. We booked the trip the weekend of Columbus day which also happened to be the weekend of the Chicago Marathon.

I was excited to be eating and drinking for three days in Chicago. Karen and Bob joined us on the trip. For about a month, Karen and I checked out restaurants as we wanted to have some idea of where we wanted to eat since our time would be limited.

We left early Saturday morning out of Philadelphia and stopped at Hank's Place in Chadds Ford to begin our feasting.

When we arrived in Chicago, we took the L to our hotel (Holiday Inn Chicago-Mart Plaza [Riverview] which was on the marathon course after the 12th mile) and unloaded our bags. The weather was fabulous so taking the L then walking through Bucktown worked off a little of the jet lag.

Our favorite place was the first place we ate at - Hot Chocolate. At first Karen and I thought we love chocolate but we didn't need to head out of the city center to Bucktown to eat. But we kept coming back to this place when we were narrowing down are choices before the trip.

I had a ($14) chocolate martini, Bob had Housemade Brioche French Toast that was to die for, I ordered the special that day - Hash, Brad and Karen both had the English muffin with egg and sausage (Brad substituted the sausage with tuna). We had an incredible meal with a fabulous atmosphere. We then ordered some cookies to go. Chocolate chip and bacon - a little over the top so I am over bacon in my cookies. The other cookies were sandwich cookies with filling of lime and raspberry.

View right outside our hotel.

Hot Chocolate!

Labor Day Drive from Maine to Mass.

2010-12-12T09:07:00.014-05:00

Since my memory doesn't serve me well much these days (I know, I know! I am not that old - not even that close to turning 50 - but that is just how it goes), I will post these fun pictures. On our way home, we drove up to Rockland for one last visit to the Breakwater Lighthouse. Worth the trip back as it was tough to get pictures the evening before as dusk turned to night.

Maine Lobsterman

Breakwater Lighthouse

Cape Neddick Lighthouse

The one thing I do remember was the drive home. We were making GREAT time and because part of the trip was a foodie event, we had to stop for scones. Our favorite shop was closed so we had to stop for breakfast somewhere. I don't remember the place but it was on the wrong side of the road. The service took forever so we watched the traffic increase as we waited and waited for bacon and eggs. Because I had to stop to see one more %$*%$:-) lighthouse, this was the traffic from Cape Neddick. I95 was backed up when we got off so I decided to take Route 1 south.
As we SAT in traffic on Route 1, traffic was flying on I95. We needed to travel FIVE miles on Route 1 to "detour" the Labor Day traffic then jump back on I95. Instead, we sat in the Labor Day traffic for over an hour. I am not much of a runner but I could have ran faster than driving on Route 1. Karen kept me calm as I just had to laugh at making the wrong decision taking Route 1.

MaineSport Outfitters Triathlon

2010-10-12T23:31:00.024-04:00

.5 mile swim; 26 mile bike; 6.6 mile run. I borrowed a wet suit from a friend of Karen's so I floated through the swim. Somewhat fun because I felt like a buoy but I still was one of the last 10 out of the water. Then I could not get out of the wet suit. Worth it? As I had done before, I rode like a maniac passing at least 20 people. My overall time was 2:53; bottom third. I cracked on the run, of course. It was hilly and I kept running in the grassy shoulder as I was concerned about my past running injuries. What I didn't realize is that probably slowed down my time. Oh well. All I cared about was walking again. Karen did awesome finishing top ten female, and first in her age group. Then she won a wicking tee and toed socks in the post-race race number drawing. You should see the awesome winter puffy coat she bought with her "Maine Outfitters" gift certificate. I will have to post in winter as I forgot to take a picture of her in it. We were so cracked after the race. Oh yea, I forgot we had hiked four hours the day before. So tired. But to save on driving back to Waldoboro and back to Camden, we just toweled off and spent the day in Camden. So much fun as the town was hopping with the Windjammer Festival. Dozens of schooners were taking people out for sails and docked tours. We had lunch at a local deli and ate dinner at Cappy's. I finally had my Maine lobster. Yum!

Hiking Out of Camden State Park

2010-10-11T20:52:00.009-04:00

The Ocean Lookout was a much needed a break from the hike in. Thank goodness we had scones from Rock City Coffee House (key lime was very yummy and my half eaten chocolate topped, almond danish was the bomb). I would say we hiked about 4 plus miles, round trip loop and the most difficult was the first half of the hike to the Lookout. I jokingly said that when we hike out, all the running water on the trails will be gone as these were "temporary streams" from hurricane Earl. And that was pretty much true. Most of the trails had very little running water and when we hit the last trail to the parking lot, all the water in the trail was gone. Crazy.

Ocean Lookout, Camden Harbor.

Still had some flowing, running water from Hurricane Earl. This rooted trail had flowing water but it pretty much all flowed down the mountain. The source of the water was gone (stopped raining around 10 a.m.) so hiking out seemed like totally different trails from when we hiked in 2+ hours ago.

LOVED my new hiking boots. Tevas from Sierra Trading Post. They sure came in handy with this hike that lasted a lot longer than Karen expected. Plus, the trails were difficult with all the running water. These boots kept my feet dry, too.

Hiking in Camden

2010-10-10T23:11:00.011-04:00

The day before our triathlon, we hiked Camden State Park to the lookout over the Camden Harbor. From what Karen remembered from a decade ago, the hike was about an hour + out; possibly 3 hours round trip. We started at the route 52 parking lot hiking Maiden Cliff to Scenic to the Ridge trail all the way to Mount Megunticook then to the Ocean Lookout. The beauty of the hike was breath taking as well as all the rain flowing down the trail paths. The paths were like small streams. The hike is classified as class 1 -2 (easy on a good trail 2-can be off trail) but is noted "tricky when wet". We passed a solo hiker about who looked about 50+ but was probably older as he looked really healthy and fit. He asked where we were heading and when we said Ocean Lookout, he said good luck and be very careful. He said it was wet like the trail we were on. He had hiking canes.

We needed hiking canes. All I could do was gasp in amazement with all the water in the trails. An hour in, we found natural walking sticks to assist us. With most of the stopping we did to contemplate what path to take and our scones break at the Ocean Lookout, the hike ended up taking 4+ hours. It was beautiful and fantastic but not quite what we should have been doing the day before the triathlon.

Rockland, Maine

2010-10-08T05:42:00.008-04:00

After our ride Friday, we showered and headed out for dinner in Rockland, Maine. Being First Friday in Rockland, we missed the boat on free entry to the Farnsworth Art Museum. No signs and I found out about it online the next day. Doaph!!! I blame it on being tired and hungry. We ate at Cafe Miranda and had fabulous meals; appetizer of roasted veggie medley (assorted veg, wood oven roasted, balsamic, vinegar, soft cheese); dinners were Lamb Wowie (roasted & braised w/aromatic veg in their own curry spice mix, w/roasted greens, spicy tomato, yogurt, cilantro, lemon, carrot, salted onion, cilantro, cucumbers, rice and more!) and Antonio Miguel Casasanto (sauteed shredded duck w/roasted shallots, roasted garlic, sauce veloute, marsala, fresh basil, cream w/fresh house made pasta) served with homemade bread. We were stuffed and took home leftovers. Then we walked to Rock City Coffee House for some decaf. The four berry pie and some scones were calling us so we shared the pie (and took the scones home). Yum!!! There is always room for PIE. The hurricane came in as we drove home to Moody's. The rain lulled us to sleep as we hoped for a clear day on Saturday to hike in Camden at the Camden State Park. The heat broke a little bit to sleep but it was still a bit muggy.

Rockland Harbor

Pemaquid Point Ride Pictures

2010-10-07T06:09:00.006-04:00

Pemaquid Point and Hurricane Earl.A bakery/cafe we stopped at on the way home from the point for a bite to eat. Her cafe is in her home. We had donut holes and fish chowder. The day before I said to Karen that I don't care so much for fish chowder. You know, when I am hungry, I will eat almost anything. I think I am hung up on the idea of fish in soup yet I can eat crab chowder. ??
Cemetery in Bremen.

Revolutionary Hero, Commodore Samuel Tucker.

Pemaquid Point

2010-10-06T20:12:00.013-04:00

Okay, I cracked on blogging. Sorry. I blame it on school, work and trying to live on the weekends. So before I leave for Chicago on Saturday for a day and a half of eating and soaking in Chi-town, I need to catch up on my trip to Maine. Doaph! I don't think I finished writing about Northern Ireland. I will get on that over Thanksgiving.

Friday, we walked downtown into Waldoboro to have breakfast at the one and only coffee shop in town-Village Bakery and Cafe. We had fabulous coffee and I chowed on quiche and coffee cake for breakfast. I had to fuel up for the 50 mile ride round trip to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.

As I age, I complain more. We rolled out of our cabin and the road seemed to go downhill all the way to the point. I think at one point I was screaming; "We better not be climbing on the way back because I know I am not into it!!!!" At about the 8 mile point, I spotted rocks I wanted to take home but they would not fit into my pockets. I knew we would be in trouble as I would be finding things to stop and put in my pockets or take pictures of. I held off stopping until the way back. And then I cracked at the cemetery. Just one too many stops because I was camera happy. It was a fantastic out and back ride ever. Those rollers were seemed harder than than the appeared. With hurricane Earl traveling up the coast, the were overcast and the waves were crashing the shoreline.

Pictures for the Waldoboro Post

2010-09-09T22:32:00.014-04:00

The cherry pie and raspberry cream cake!!! Yum!!

Reds Eats. We did not get to stop on our way out as we were worried about the traffic backup that happens in this area because of Reds and also because of the Labor Day traffic. So I had my lobster (happy hr special to boot!) in Camden Sunday at Cappy's Chowder House.

The antique shop wish list...

Moody's Cabins. Hmm. Forgot about NO air conditioning. Pretty rustic and sufficient. Mini fridge, microwave, tv w/cable. Watched hurricane Earl, US Open, baseball, ...

Waldoboro, Maine

2010-09-02T20:03:00.012-04:00

Yesterday we drove from Millersville, PA, to Florham Park, NJ, to begin our adventure to Maine for my third triathlon. Karen is an avid triathlete with many ribbons and trophies in her many years of racing. I was enticed with the adventure of Maine without having to race a triathlon. I am not sure what made me sign up for the is race - I think is was that I committed to the road trip and that the entry fee is the lowest I have seen for these crazy races ($40). Karen has been a trooper as I finished my second triathlon (one that was on the ROAD so I did not hurt myself) with a bad attitude.

The swim is the worst for me as I have anxiety issues especially since I have not trained enough in the pool. I grabbed a red cap as that alerts the kayakers to keep an eye on us red-cappers. I had a older woman kayaker stay with me during my second loop of the 3/4 mile swim encouraging me all the way. She said I had a really good stroke - better than some of the men. Yea, okay - thanks but it did not help me with my breathing! Being the second to last competitor out of the water, I just walked to the transition area to shake off the swim. I took my time in the transition area and once on the bike, I rode as fast as I could to get away from the swim. I passed about 20+ women going from 34th to 9th place. :-) Hammer time. Then came the run and almost half of those women I passed on the bike, passed me on the run. Thankfully the run was on a trail so my battered body had a break from the pounding road (I rode 50+ miles the day before because I can't say no & needed to get the miles in for a century ride that I am doing with more girlfriends on Sept. 11th). Karen and Terri were chipper cheering for me handing me Gatorade and that was really nice and cool but I was a grump. (Sorry gals!!) Triathlons are not my thing and I just think these athletes are amazing. I thought training for bike racing was hard. Trying to train for three disciplines is even harder. So here I am. In Waldoboro, Maine, for my third triathlon.

Today, we made it to Wiscasset, Maine by One O'clock. I wanted to eat at Red's Eats but they had too long of a line so we had lunch at Sarah's Cafe. After we left Sarah's, we checked out Red's and a guy passed his tray of lobster rolls under our eyes and it was all lobster meat. No salad mix (lobster salad) just the meat on a roll. It looked exactly like what I wanted!! So we will have to stop by on our way home.

At Sarah's Cafe, we had a cup and a half of soup; I had curry black beans and summer squash, Karen had haddock chowder and we split a cup of potato and shallot. The soups came with three & 1/2 pieces of homemade bread. Then we thought we had room for dessert. We ordered a raspberry cream cake and cherry pie. I think our waitress gave us the biggest slices! Yay!! We walked around after lunch and the sugar and fat set in and we were SO full.

We wandered into an antique shop and I saw the most beautiful pool table I ever laid eyes on. I will post pictures when I return home. The pool table was built in the 1800s by Brunswick and the gentleman would sell it to me today; for the price of $17,000!!!!!! I saw a chandelier I liked and that price made me think I could afford the chandelier made of brass coated/plated with silver for $1600. Aw, but no room in my car. Bummer. About 30 minutes putzing around town, we left for Waldoboro. We melted unpacking the car as the cabin does not have air conditioning. The bike ride to loosen the legs went out the window as we sat outside in the shade as it was cooler than our cabin. I did a little work and Karen caught up with family. Now I need to do some school work and turn in for the night. Tomorrow's adventure will be a ride down to Pemaquid Lighthouse.

First Triathlon

2010-08-15T19:15:00.020-04:00

I signed up for my first triathlon Labor Day weekend - in Maine; 1/2 mile swim, 26 bike, 6.7 run. I am a roadie through and through so I have been riding all July to get some fitness. I started running 8 weeks out because I felt that would be my weakest leg and I just jumped in the pool this last week. I know I said the run would be my weakest leg but I have done 5K running races so I know that "feel", especially without training. With a 6.7 run I knew I had to buckle down and train. I am off to a good start with my training running three times a week slowing bumping up the mileage for the last five weeks (1,2,2 / 2,2,3 / 2,3,3 / 2,3,4 / 3,3,4 / 3,3,5 / 3,3,5 / 3,3,6 / 3,2,race). No sprinting (unless chased by scary bugs in Crisfield), hills, intervals, etc. Just run, walk, jog, etc.

About a month ago I thought I should do some local tris to get a "feel" for the swim with all those people. My first triathlon will now be my third (or maybe second). I signed up for a mountain bike tri and road tri this month, both through Trimax Endurance Sports. I figured the off-road triathlon would be great because I would have trails to run on (3.2 miles) and I mountain biked (5 would be so easy), so a 1/4 mile swim would be a great tune up. The other triathlon at the end of the month the weekend before Labor Day is on the road; .75 swim/18 bike/3.2 mile run.

Let's just say I did not start the day out right with my first triathlon today. I had an idea where Macungie, PA, near Allentown. I google mapped it, looked at the map last night online and printed the directions. Oh - that's easy, go up 222 N. Well, the directions printed something totally different and I did not know that until we were driving. I usually question these printed directions whether from map quest, google, yahoo, whatever. And that's how I get lost. They are usually right. I talked a friend into doing this race and it would be her first, too. She is young and chipper, willing to try anything.

I didn't want to drink any caffeine because during my practice swims I just started this past week, I swam on full test one day and could not ever catch my breath. I was breast stroking, otter swimming (not using the arms because they are SO weak), or just swam with my head above water. We followed the directions into the middle of hill and dale - State Road 2026. Okay, it had a name; Pricetown Road. At first I thought it would be okay. We were going to a ski resort, it should be in the middle of nowhere. After we drove twenty miles beyond the 54 miles to get there (the BACK way), we finally got close to Macungie via Route 100. I was fuming inside and some of it seeped out. I let Terri know it was not her fault. I should have read the directions and reviewed the map. I usually do that, too (because I am too cheap to buy a GPS). Why stress about getting there without any time to warm-up, set-up properly in the transition area, etc. It is not worth it but I was a little stressed.

We arrived at 10 after 7 and the race started at 7:30. I was laughing because I just saw the "pond". Terri and I registered and just laughed because we were going to swim in a drainage basin. How gross is that?! How does swimming in a pool prepare one for a drainage basin?! I should practice at our "pond" at work.

We started in waves; the XTERRA racers who were doing double of what we were racing went first. The groups were split about equally. I watched the first group and as the rounded the second buoy, they looked like the evolution man. They went from swimming to walking! I was SO excited. A chance to rest and breath!! Yay! I was really hoping to walk/run the swim but the basin was pretty deep about two feet from the edge. I didn't think I panicked but I must have as I had trouble breathing when I swam. And I had a moment or two of awful gulps of the scary water. After walking around buoy two, I swam like an otter.

I forgot mountain biking is not road cycling. I should have practiced some but I figured I was doing this for the swim so I rode conservatively until I found a groove and had some fun riding. The end of the ride brought us out of the woods on the far edge of one of the ski slopes onto a gravel road that was at least a 12%+ grade. Gravity pulled pretty hard and the gravel was pretty loose. My tires were not knobby enough and I couldn't let go of the brakes as I yelled at myself to do so and I fish-tailed and crashed the left knee into the gravel road then popped up with the bike still attached to the right foot with gravity still pulling pretty hard. Luckily, I only gashed open my left knee pretty good. Not much gravel rash anywhere else as I sit on an ice pack where my right butt cheek stopped me from rolling down the gravel hill with my bike.

I tried riding down in the grass after I assessed I didn't shatter my knee cap. Almost crashed again as I rode into a ditch. I dismounted and rode when I was on paved road around the resort. I swore like Muttley the dog.

Terri was a sweetheart as she ran circles with me to find the ambulance to clean up my knee so I could finish the race. The trail run would have been fun if not for the bum knee. Great trail to run (without a mountain bike! :-). I did have fun all things considered. I won a prize for the most gnarly race wound (but I think unwrapping the gauze helped). Not sure if I would do this race again as ironically the winner of the event said something of the sort; Wow. You chose this race to be your first tri? It's deceivingly hard with the technical ride and run. Now I am not sure about doing the next race as I need to practice for the .75 swim and don't know when I can get into a pool. I should be able to bike and run in a few days but I just don't want to get any more crap into my wounds from a pool. I am not sure otter swimming will work for .75 miles as there probably will be more than 100 participants. So Maine may be the next (and last?) triathlon for me.

Tried to take this picture "upside down" but it focused on the car so here is post drive home/showered and hopefully cleaned out knee shot.

Feasting at Crisfield, Maryland

2010-08-12T06:26:00.002-04:00

Trouble if I ever saw one!!

We caught dinner for four.

Karen's ready for feasting. We rode cruisers for a few hours at Chincoteague and worked up an appetite. We just missed the swimming of the ponies (thank goodness - I don't think I could have handled the 40,000 tourists.) and it was HOT! so the ponies must have been hiding out in a cool spot.

Our Little Guys

2010-08-05T14:59:00.002-04:00

Gotta love a cat nap!

Madeleine 2010

2010-07-13T20:30:00.007-04:00

Reminiscing to 2004. Whipped out the pictures on cds to share. In 2004, the TdF raced up the other side. Awww. I miss all of it. With a full glass of wine, I am wearing my polkadot cap and babbling to Brad about dragging him to the TdF for a future vacation for all that is the Tour de France in the mountains. I must say the Pyrenees are my favorite mountain range, though.

Transportation in Belfast

2010-07-05T20:43:00.003-04:00

We had a rental car for Thursday as Cory needed the car to get to the airport on Saturday. I was not aware that our lectures and tours were not in walking distance and not along the public transportation routes so we rented bikes. We had fantastic weather and we amazed ourselves riding all day for over 40 miles on these bikes. I had to adjust riding on the proper (right) side of the road when I returned to the states with all the traveling in Ireland.

Stormont statues and benches.

Belfast Images

2010-06-27T16:23:00.010-04:00

Our first day in Belfast with lectures (noted in other post), self-touring and pub hopping.
Belfast City Hall and statues.

Cathedral Quarter mosaic.

Prince Albert Tower

My favorite pub; Bittles Bar. Quaint corner bar. Great selection of beers on draught.

A few panoramic views from Victoria Square lookout.

Accents

2010-06-25T16:35:00.003-04:00

I do have a better picture but this is classic. It was our first day in Belfast; I more jet lagged than Cory. She traveled from Cambridge, UK, about 1+ hours compared to my 6+ hours across the pond. I had a local take our picture and she said; "Do you want it a wee bit closer?" But it all ran together for us and this is the look she got. I think we still had half pints because we were too knackered to drink anymore. I think time was an issue, too, and I was not about to be chugging any beer. Been there ~ done that ~ like to enjoy it now.

Tips for Traveling

2010-06-25T13:24:00.013-04:00

Really ~ pack light. Especially when traveling with a group. There are always facilities to do laundry and you can always wear your souvenirs. I packed perfectly for the first time ever. I had three jackets; one for rain, a fleece and a fleece vest. Layers really help as you can use the jackets over and over again. Since the weather was beautiful, I could not re-wear my clothes as I would normally do because I sweated a lot from all the walking and riding. Go all natural ~ ditch the hair dryer, irons and make-up. Makes traveling so much easier. Bring the basics if you cannot do without make-up. It really helps to go all natural as it saves time and space.

I eventually donated my sneakers, flannel pjs and one long sleeve shirt to make room for the whiskey. I probably should have donated more but I could not part with any other clothing. I should have left all the rocks as that would have lightened Brad's bag. The strap torn as the 16.5 lb bag became 30.5 with added books, rocks and whiskey. The zip locks came in handy with grabbing food from the hotels. It wasn't as if there weren't places to eat but that we did not have time to eat between lectures and the days journeys.

Pack a few items for first aid, ibuprofen, e-mergen C packs and more than you need. If you have the room, squeeze it in. I ran out of the stuff early. With the lack of sleep and running from place to place, I came down with a cold that hampered my non-stop energy the last few days of the trip. If anything, e-mergen C and airborne are great cures for hangovers.

This was our mini-bus minus two women (and their baggage) who were flying in from Amsterdam to join our group. They are traveling for a few more weeks on their own to Dublin and Italy before returning to the states.

This was our first lecture at the Crescent Arts Centre with people from the Charter for Northern Ireland group. The youth are involved with a programmed called Crossing the Bridges. Some of the kids met Catholics for the first time two or three years ago. The communities have been physically divided by walls, gates and going back hundreds of years, they created their own little towns to be sustainable without having to interact with the other. Charter provides these groups with the tools to help the communities come together, teach each that we are not really different from the other (pray to the same God) and to respect what differences may exist.

We had free time in the afternoon and while others shopped or toured Belfast, we took in a half pint!! at the Kitchen Bar. We wanted a full pint but were too knackered. The World Cup is full on in Ireland. Just fantastic! But we did not get to watch much as we were on the go.

Many versions of the pound (Ireland, England, Scotland).

Off Across the Pond Again

2010-06-13T07:29:00.008-04:00

I am all set for Northern Ireland! I had my packing pile close to ready for over a month. Now that everything is in the bags, I have to UNpack! The checked bag has to be about the size of a carry on bag as my trip is a class and we are limited with space on the mini-bus.

There is no room for Bushmills or other souvenirs so I am packing old running shoes so I can leave them there at an Irish Goodwill or homeless shelter to bring home some whiskey! I think my carry on is just a big as my checked as I have all the electronics, batteries, chargers and snacks stashed away.

Pizza on the Grill

2010-06-05T16:18:00.009-04:00

I love riding my bike because I love food!!! It is stinking hot so there was no way I want to turn on the oven but I have been JONES for homemade pizza. On the ride, Bad Kat and I talked about wanting to try to grill pizza. Thank goodness we only rode 35+ miles because that allowed me time to make pizza dough in the bread maker, go to market, stop at one of my favorite coffee shops (Cross Keys Coffee & Tea) for an espresso (1/2 decaf-1/2 reg) and come home to chop veggies to marinade for grilling tomorrow and then saute mushrooms, onions and sausage for pizza on the grill. I have to note I had to have a half & half espresso because I am running a mile a minute.

I read online how to grill pizza and since we have an old grill, I didn't trust throwing dough on the grill ~ even an oiled grill, so I ripped off some aluminum foil and spread some olive oil on them. I put the cooked mushrooms, onions and turkey sausage in separate bowls, rolled out two oval pies, fired up the grill and took everything outside except the dough. Once the grill was hot, I ran in the house, carefully grabbed one of the doughs on aluminum foil and threw it on the grill. I forgot about the cheese and sauce and ran in the house quickly for those fixings (you have to do all of this fast as the dough can burn on the grill). Luckily I closed the grill lid because we ran out of gas. #()%(*%*@A!! At least the dough got crispy on the bottom so I flipped it and closed the lid again. I ran down into the basement to finish up some laundry and ran up to place the toppings on the dough. Once the toppings were on, I closed the lid so the cheese would at least melt. I was STARVING because I didn't eat lunch because I was waiting for this moment. The pizza turned out awesome!! Brad just changed the tank so I can finish making the other pizza.

I will probably not have time to run around and finish the laundry, do dishes, etc. as there is a full tank of gas! Woohoo. Based on the recipes on the web, you don't really want to close the lid but I had a stinking suspicion that the tank was going to run out of gas. I will throw the other dough on the grill, watch it cook in a few minutes, flip it with two spatulas and then put all the stuff on top. Bingo! Grilled pizza in no time!! Yummy!!

Word of the Day ~ Doping!

2010-05-20T07:25:00.003-04:00

It's not just me being a silly goober ("you're such a dope!"), and it not just Landis confessing he has doped (used performance enhancing drugs) but calling out Mellow Johnny for doping, too. How could it be so that all the lieutenants that used to race for the 7-time TdF winner got busted for doping but he has never doped?

Battenkill

2010-05-14T19:26:00.004-04:00

I know ~ it happened a month ago but had work and school to deal with. Here are some pictures of the 60+ winner, 35+ robocop and our other kick-ass 40+ guys.

Flyers!!!!!

2010-05-13T20:28:00.003-04:00

So the Pens lost horribly yesterday so I am cheering on the Flyers!!! Brad is the fan ~ oh, I guess I am but I keep forgetting in my old age!! Go Flyers!!!! We are off to finding a pub with CSN for tomorrow night. Dinner at the house and then an evening of skating on the ice with graduating F&M students at either the Brickyard or I don't know place as they need to have CABLE. Ugh. Brickyard it may be.

Phillies Win 7-2

2010-05-07T06:32:00.005-04:00

I went to an afternoon Phillies game yesterday and had a blast! I yelled at the ref and told him "it was in the strike box!", batters hit seconds (not doubles) and I was hoping the game would go into overtime. I had all the terminology messed up and that was before I had four beers. Doaph!

Our seats were excellent (Thanks UGI Mike)! Row 18, section 131, along the third base line. The players looked bigger than life. Mary almost caught an Utley, foul ball (I should of push her over the two people to our right to tackle the businessman who caught it bear-handed). Everyone popped up and I was too slow to react; I just yelled; "Mary, get it!!" Ibanez hit a homer and we got to hear the bell ring (we got to the game late and missed Werth's homer-bummer!!)

When you go to a game, don't forget your glove, camera, sunscreen, hat and binoculars. If you want to get on the jumbotron, you must were the team regalia. A mother two rows in front pumped up her biceps for the "muscle cam" and two girls behind us got on the jumbotron twice just smiling and dancing. We wore red and white shirts but only one Phillies hat (Mare) so we missed out. And if you have great seats, be ready to turn 12 again and get excited to see the mascot running down the isles giving high fives.

Little 500

2010-04-24T20:34:00.003-04:00

We have HDnet and got to watch the Little 500. What an incredible event. Breaking Away is one of my favorite movies so watching this race was so cool. If I had an opportunity to go back to college, I would go to IU, just to race in the Little 500.

We missed the beginning of the men's race but as we watched the women's race yesterday, they listed the riders names with their major of study. Just kick ass as 33 teams of four women relays raced on single speed Schwinns on a dirt track. We need a dirt track like that in Lancaster, PA, for all kinds of fun.

Double Shot

2010-04-05T07:55:00.004-04:00

I stop in the Chestnut Hill Cafe to drop off brochures and I can't just walk out so I bought a shot of espresso. Or as I call "expresso"~not sure why I can't prounce it properly but that's how it comes out. Anyways, the barista (with the dogs) said a "double cost as much as a single". And I asked; "Will it make me bounce off the wall more than a single?" He shrugs his shoulders and I said oh, hell why not?

Now I know the answer. Even though I haven't eaten any breakfast yet, the caffeine is not ripping my stomach apart but I am sure bouncing off the walls!! Hopefully I get a lot of work done today. If not, I surely will be chatty.

Lamb

2010-04-03T21:30:00.016-04:00

I broke down and have become a lamb eater. Baaaa! I think lamb is an acquired taste so I am not sure if I am sold on lamb. I found two recipes that I melded together along with some of my usual improvising for good and silly reasons and luckily, the meal turned out just fine.

Improvising for good reasons: No Rutabagas so I substituted Turnips, lazy with buying cumin and coriander seeds because I already had the ground versions, too cheap/lazy to buy tomato paste so I squeezed and squished a tomato into the caramelized onions/shallots/wine broth, bought a boneless leg of lamb instead of lamb shanks (economizing) which proved to be the bomb.

Silly improvs: Did not use the full amount of red wine because I did not want to open another bottle because I am low on red wine for drinking, don't know why I didn't use the full amount of beef broth-I guess because I cut back on the wine.

I bought the needed root vegetables at market this morning, the lamb at Costco. I asked advice from another customer about cooking the lamb as I have never cooked lamb before. I whipped out my recipes from epicurious.com and ask "oven or crock-pot" since I am not doing the shanks. She recommended "oven" but I was set on the crock-pot because of squeezing in a long bike ride tomorrow. The recipe reviews recommended crock-pot cooking (4 hrs) for the shanks, too. But a boneless leg of lamb could get over cooked, especially when I could not estimate the cooking time for the crock-pot and I would not be home to save it. In the end, our Sunday guest could not make it so I switched dinner to tonight and choose the oven as I estimated that the lamb would take under two hours to cook at 400 degrees in a covered, dutch oven (20 minutes per pound).

I marinated the lamb in a fantastic rub for at least three hours (overnight would have been best but little time to marinate because of the change of plans). I caramelized the onions and shallots while I prepped the potato and root vegetables. Then I cooked the potatoes and root vegetables in the oven at 400 for an hour while I did some yard work. I thought we could have them on the side like roasted vegetables but because I pretty much cooked them without any water or oil, they seemed too dry so I did what the recipe called for - mashed 'em. I finished up the lamb base by boiling the wine and broth in the caramelized onions and shallots (pan: 6 quart, 13" Calphalon similar to this one but paid a lot less 6 years ago and my lid has a higher dome so the lamb fit perfectly).

The Rub:

1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds (grind 1 tbsp of each seeds in a spice or coffee grinder)

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all (don't forget the seeds) with the oil. Rub the meat with the mixture; place in a glass or ceramic dish and cover with plastic wrap.

The Base:

Caramelized onions & shallots (2 medium onions sliced, 5 shallots sliced)

1 3/4 cups of dry red wine

2 cups beef broth

smashed and squeezed 1 tomato (I did not put the tomato skins in the mix)

2 bay leaves

The caramelized the onions and shallots sat for an hour while the vegetables cooked. When I was ready to cook the lamb, I poured the wine into the onions and shallots and brought it to a boil, then added the broth, squeezed the tomato and added the bay leaves. When I placed the lamb on the pile of onions and shallots, I poured all the extra oil and herbs into the mix with two rosemary sprigs on top. I cooked five+ pounds of lamb in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 400 degrees.

The Mash:

8 red potatoes, quartered

4 turnips peeled and quartered

6 small parsnips peeled and chopped

Cooked at 400 degrees for an hour. Then mashed with salt, pepper, olive oil and butter (about a 1/2 stick!). I covered the mash and kept it on the stove over the oven vent to keep it warm.

Start time: around 2 p.m. with dinner ready at 6 p.m.

Ready to Retire

2010-03-19T08:45:00.006-04:00

I took the last two Fridays off for personal stuff and those plans fell through. In the past I would go into work to get the days back and use them another time. I decided - what the hell, I love to go to market and I should keep the days off for me.

So here I am at Prince St Cafe hanging with XPN. I started with decaf because I am afraid I will overdose on coffee. I did not realize that I yearn for days like these. To ride the Schwinn, hang out at a coffee shop, eating, drinking, blogging, texting, ... Poor Bradley had to work so I invited my boyfriend to join me but he went to the wrong coffee shop. Imagine that. It could have been a perfect morning. :-)

Crazy!

2010-03-14T15:30:00.003-04:00

One would think since I am not training for anything and I usually whine about how crazy it is to ride in the rain this time of year ~ that I would have stayed in my pjs. But no, I got stupid. I suited up in my thermal tights, wind jacket and rode. We thought there would be a "window". If it would rain, it surely would happen half way into our two plus hour ride. I took the gamble and dragged along a friend. The guys were all lined up for the Sunday ride, too. I don't know what we were all thinking. Having a few days off the bike is a good thing. Did we really need to ride today?

Breaking even on the gamble, we got poured on off and on around the Strasburg Railroad. My wet suit-like thermal tights kept me warm and dry for most of the ride. It wasn't until I was home hosing off the bikes that I froze. My feet took the worst of it as they got numb and I couldn't put weight on them until I showered and put my fuzzy slippers on. Crazy!

Savasana

2010-02-13T16:23:00.002-05:00

Doing yoga with the cats. Yes, two cats as the other one is Brad's buddy; he's under the covers. It's rare that Smeagol hangs out with us in the TV room.

A Day On The Course

2010-02-07T17:55:00.010-05:00

Brad made some phone calls on Friday and we were set to groom our local community center golf course if it snowed at least 3 to 4 inches. We got more than we could handle; I would guess about 20+ inches. We wrestled the snow mobile and groomer yesterday to create skate skiing trails. Today was non-stop fun in the snow for all. Hard work pays off. Thank goodness we have a hot tub, too, because it has been difficult to lift a beer mug with sore arms!

Lance and I are Friends; I over heard him talking in Sacramento

2010-02-07T14:31:00.006-05:00

A buddy of ours from Sacramento sent this out ~ Hilarious!!

Gotta Love the Belgians

2010-01-29T17:06:00.003-05:00

Check out this event in West Chester.

Paris Market

2010-01-17T15:12:00.016-05:00

Sorry it took me two and half months to buy iLife 2009 to download my pictures from Paris. Life took over with work, the holidays, graduate school and trying to stay healthy (eating my favorite food of the season - cookies!!!!). I was joking with Brad that it was great that he rode for six plus hours yesterday but he better not go and take three weeks off the bike. Little did I realize that I have been off the bike for three weeks!!! I have a long way to go getting back on the bike at 100%. Right. I forgot I posted some pictures back in November. I had downloaded all my pictures at Cory's as no one else took hundreds of pictures like me. :-) I have a few other fun ones to come later.

Anyways, I salivated over my market pictures for hours last night. Here is the best video I took of the market that happens every Sunday right below the flat we stayed at in Paris.

Maximus

2010-01-10T20:07:00.003-05:00

We drove to Laurel Ridge State Forest and had an awesome ski. Lots of time on the road but worth it. Next time we will make a weekend of it. Hilarious part was that I was caught in the web cam probably around the 2 pm pass of web cam yesterday!! Yo~Hello Kelly Yoder!! Awesome skiing. Brad and I ended up at Iron Hill afterwards, hence, the title of the post. Yum!!!!

Maximus
OG: 1.100 Color: 14 IBU: 35 Alc by Vol: 10.0%
The strongest of the Abbey ales, our version of a Quad is brewed with specialty Belgian candy syrup, chocolate malts, and a unique Belgian yeast strain, giving the beer a full body with flavors and aromas of dark fruit and spice.

Northug & Norway

2010-01-09T09:32:00.002-05:00

Just like cycling, cross country skiing has it's epic finishes. Check this out. The announcing is fantastic, too.

2010

2010-01-02T16:44:00.010-05:00

I am ready for a new sport but I need snow in a close proximity!! As usual, I over did it and am being knocked out by the common cold. I am sick of the 10 cups of hot tea, airborne and emergen-C and have hit the bottle(s). When I get Iphoto back on my computer, I will post some pictures of the old ceramic bottle of Michter's - found one on ebay. Riiight; the seal was broken and "contents removed" to allow shipping worldwide. As a immature teenager, I broke into my dad's liquor and drank most of it like a fish. Luckily, I have this set of Michter's with a pitcher, glasses and this decanter that has some of the tasty whiskey left for me to enjoy as an adult.

Back to my little excursion north for cross-country skiing, we rung in 2010 in Pulaski (Pull-ask-I), NY at a fancy o'le Super8. WooHoo. We got the low down on places to eat on New Year's Eve and we headed to Eddies. Right, O! We did have decent meals and complimentary glasses of wine. Bob & I had the scallops that were possibly previously frozen but alright. Karen and Brad had pretty good meals in Lobster Pie and Chicken Parmesan. We were back at the Super8 by 9:30 and sleeping by 10.

Our last day of skiing yesterday had warmer temperatures that made the skiing sticky. Hugh didn't groom the trails at all as to not make them icy for the normal skiers. So Brad worked his ass off skate skiing in three + inches of powder and I cracked. I skated about half a foot on each side and would not glide any further. After an hour walking in the skis up the hills and skating in short bits, I took a break then switched to the classics. After we left Osceola/Tug Hill for home, we detoured to Ithaca to check out the town and have a good meal. We ran into bad weather so the detour was a little more than expected.

Brad and Karen had fresh corn beef sandwiches were out of this world. I never had one and tasted Brad's. Wow. I can't wait to order one. I had the Thai butternut squash soup, Thai chicken quesadilla and Brooklyn Chocolate Stoudt. Simeon's was a great place to eat when we didn't have the Moosewood to dine at.

One last note on dining, we had burgers and breakfasts at the Osceola Outpost and we were set with fresh home cooking. It was located at the only intersection where we skied. We had the locals serving us one morning as the waitress overslept. We got the scoop that her mother does not like the new boyfriend. Two guys and the cook got us set up until Brittany arrived. We were trying to figure out why the "waitress" seemed a little out of sorts as she was the cook. The retirees kept the coffee flowing. If we don't get enough snow for other ski centers, I would come back to the Tug Hill Plateau.

Skate Skiing

2009-12-31T22:40:00.010-05:00

Wednesday, I skate skied for the first time. The sport is so hard both classic and skating. These professional athletes make it look so easy. I liked it but every time there was a slight incline and I mean slight, I would flounder. Brad wanted to check out the North side of the ski center. Instead of taking a break, I skied with him. Stupid! The North side was "flatter" but we had to do some climbs to get to the flat section. Of course, I found that out after I was out there. I had to herring bone up all the little climbs. Bitching. Brad was a trooper. He hearing is bad so he probably didn't hear me bitching much anyways. We had a blast. At one point I did yell to him as he waited for me at the top of a climb; "If I could catch you, I would kick you ass!!"

Thursday, we all skied like old pros. Or that's what we told ourselves. Damn, it is hard but I love it. I was able to skate up the little risers double and single poling. If you watch the video, imagine how easy they make the sport look. If I was on the course with those women, I would look like a turtle in snow and that is pretty slow!! But I still had fun.

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-30T09:07:00.010-05:00

We are off on a little excursion in Redfield/Osceola, NY cross country skiing. The high temperature of the day was 22 but the winds were howling. Dinner was at the Reservoir Inn, a gas station converted into a restaurant and motel. The guys had Delmonico steak with mashed potatoes and veggies, I had a mushroom Stromboli and Karen had the ham steak and mac and cheese special. We classic skied for about a hour and I was tired. Today shall be interesting as we have seven hours to ski!!! I guess I will start with skate skiing for the first time. Brad bought me skis and boots for Winter Solstice. I will have to use some one's poles or rent them as I need 135 cm poles.

We stayed at a "B&B" in Redfield, NY, a town with a population of about 300. Our housing arrangements are more like a boarding house than a "B&B" but it is sufficient. Another couple with two little boys are staying here, too. They are sledding all over the place. They are from Wilkes-Barre and have stayed here for snowmobiling past winter seasons. Snowmobilers are everywhere.

Blessed Winter Solstice

2009-12-19T07:52:00.004-05:00

All I want for Christmas is two feet of snow, two feet of snow, two feet of snow!!! We are set for the storm with cat litter and food. The shovels are out and the cars are parked in the driveway in a way to limit Brad's shoveling (I will probably be doing the shoveling as I need the upper body workout and Brad back is bad). We are already sipping tea watching the snow fall. It is Smeagol's favorite thing to watch after birds and swirling leaves. Brad is making the calls for cross country skiing. Happy Solstice!!!

Sangiovese

2009-12-11T12:40:00.002-05:00

This is my new favorite wine. I tried it at Wines & More and thought; Ew? The taste was a bit tarry and smoky. But I had tried other wines before it and I was HUNGRY so I thought my taste buds were probably off.

Well, I really like it. This is the brand I tried from W&M and paid $10 a bottle! I cannot WAIT to finish off the bottle tonight.

29!

2009-12-10T20:17:00.003-05:00

Damn. No wonder I cracked on my little, six mile ride home after my last full class tonight. First, I thought all the stress that built up the last 15 weeks taking my first graduate class came pouring out of me on my ride home at 7:30 p.m. tonight. My mind went wild with thoughts. I am too shaky and hungry I cannot even type let alone think.

Wow. It was COLD riding home and I got blown over twice, too. I have egg rolls in the toaster oven with tortilla chips and ORANGE cheese, a handful of chocolates and a glass of wine. No, I am not PMSing. I guess I hope to de-stress and warm up!

All ready to relax while watching the Steelers. Right~Not sure how that is going to happen.

Tuscan Mac N Cheese

2009-11-29T13:14:00.005-05:00

I picked up this recipe from the Turkey Lady at Central Market the other week. Fantastic and easy to make.

Tuscan Mac N Cheese

Yes, I altered the recipe. I did not add the olives even though I love them (others do not) and I did not top with a tomato because I do not like toms on my mac n cheese.

Apple Walnut Crumb Pie

2009-11-28T16:15:00.009-05:00

Are you a man or woman that needs to gain five, ten, fifteen or even twenty pounds? ... Then here's the pie for you!

I love this time of year. I buy a couple bushels of apples a year and go wild making apple pies and crisps. Cameo is my favorite apple this year.

Here is an awesome buttery, sugary pie ever - Apple Walnut Crumb Pie (I love this cookbook, too. Brad's Aunt Jean gave or lent them to us and I use them often.)

3 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored & sliced

1/4 c unsalted butter

juice of 1/2 lemon

2/3 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

cloves and nutmeg to taste

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons rum

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1/3 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c unsalted butter

vanilla cookie crust (7 oz finely ground vanilla wafers, 1 cup finely ground walnuts, 2 tbs confectioners sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 c melted butter. Combine all ingredients in bowl; mix well. Press over bottom and side of 9 in pie plate. Line w/foil. Bake 5 for 10 minutes longer or until light brown. Cool to room temperature. Freeze for 30 minutes.) I cheated and bought the Nabisco Vanilla wafers crumb pie crust. Then I wanted to place the crust in my pie pan to make it look "homemade" and it all fell apart! It was too small for the pie pan so I ground some walnuts, melted some butter and made the crumb fit the pan. Other than that, I followed the recipe to a T except for the "cooling and freezing the pie crust" because I ran out of time.

Combine apples and 1/2 c butter in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to coat apples as butter melts. Add lemon juice, sugar, salt, cloves, nutmeg and 1 tsp cinnamon. Simmer until apples are tender, stirring frequently. Mix cornstarch, vanilla and rum together. Add to apples. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.

Mix chopped walnuts, brown sugar, flour and 1 tsp cinnamon in bowl. Cut in 1/4 c butter until crumbly. (Okay, I lied a little bit about following the recipe to at T but no time to note my deviations.) Spoon apple mixture into chilled Vanilla Cookie Crust, heaping higher in center. Sprinkle walnut mixture over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until brown. Cool on wire rack for 2 to 3 hours before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Prep time: 30 minutes (NOT!!) 10 servings (really tiny slices ~ maybe 6 real slices)

I have already made the pie twice in the last 24 hours. I majorly lowered the sugar content and added more rum to the apples and into the crumb topping. Rum is liquid sugar so the second pie should be just as yummy.

Business Time

2009-11-18T21:20:00.003-05:00

I heard this song on XPN and about fell off my ball chair! Hilarious!! I called Brad and he was in a meeting (not listening to XPN). Damn. So I find the YouTube clip to email him. After seeing the clip and laughed even harder. I know, this has probably been around a while but I don't get HBO and do not surf the web that often. :-)

What Is Love?

2009-11-15T14:10:00.008-05:00

Let's see if I can be brief and to the point. For the last month, both Brad and I have been slackers with our diet and riding. After having fantastic home made macaroni and cheese, roasted chicken, apple pie, lots of wine and beer and more home cooked food (and wine and beer) at a house warming party, Brad organized a three hour ride for today.

I knew I was going to crack but I was told it would be easy. "We are all carrying about 5 or 10 extra pounds"... "We're going to start the ball rolling and work off the overhang." Cory's English friends call the belly, the gut, an "overhang"! So pleasant - but that's what it is.

Ed, Doug, Brad and I met Marcy and George on our way to Middle Creek Wildlife preserve. We were an hour and half into our ride around Middle Creek and Marcy and George turned back. The guys had pushed the pace here and there and it was okay. Sometimes the extra weight is great on the flats. Hmmm. The key work is flat.

Middle Creek is not far from Eagles Peak. Brad got a bug up his butt and I was doomed. "Aw, honey, you will be fine. Let's go up Yellow Mtn. instead of Pain Mtn." Right. And I followed. After I finally made it to the top with Brad trying to be a trouper by keeping me company, I told him no more climbing. Damn, when I am in shape, I suffer over these climbs. F***! with 10 extra pounds, I wanted to hurt someone. So he quickly and happily rode off to the other guys to do the rest of their crazy ride down and up the other side of Eagles Peak. I rode back down Yellow Mtn at 50 mph then turned onto part of the Pain Mt TT course to get some extra miles to meet the guys at the bottom of Eagles Peak. Thank goodness for some alone time so I could regroup and not flip out on Brad. We are so lucky that I can be a trouper and laugh about these crazy rides. I knew I could not do anymore mile plus climbs as we had at least an hour and a half to get home and it would not be a flat ride. Especially with Bradley leading the way.

"Sure honey, let's climb Eagles Peak, Yellow Mtn, Texter Mtn, ..."

Paris

2009-11-09T04:41:00.012-05:00

The weather is true to England ~ foggy, dreary and damp. We walked Nathan to school and now we are having coffee and checking emails/blogging/shopping.

We arrived in Paris around 3 pm on Friday, 6 November. We had fabulous weather as it was to rain the whole weekend. It was cloudy at times but we did have sun and warmth for a November weekend. When it did rain on Saturday, we happened to be having lunch. The sun shined for our long, climb of a walk from the Galeries Lafayette to Sacre Coeur.

Views from the flat in the 13th arrondissement (district). Cory is pointing at the Sacre Coeur off in the distance.
Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Original metro stop arch ~ designed in the early 1900s by Hector Guimard.

Tea and coffee break in the St. Germain arrondissement (6th).

Un anniversaire Cory!

2009-11-09T03:20:00.008-05:00

Europe has smaller versions of our cars so I was priviledged to sit in the back with the baggage. Mari drove on the right side of the car; driving on the left side of the road as they do in the United Kingdom, as I tried not to get sick. I would have been fine if I had not whipped my camera out to take pictures! We were pressed for time as most adventures go and Mari drove like a wild woman. At first I was thinking Jo was driving and was having a heart attack as I tried to figure out how she did not crash us while driving and talking while looking back. Right.

We took the National Rail from Royston to Kings Cross/St. Pancras Station to take the Eurostar to Paris. We celebrated Cory's 40th Birthday in first class. Champagne all the way, baby!! The attendants almost left us the bottle. Instead, we made them work very hard to keep our glasses filled. The ride was smooth and we had fabulous service. I could not tell when we travelled under the Channel. Just amazing engineering!! Off to walk Nathan to school.

Long Weekend in Europe!

2009-11-06T03:03:00.004-05:00

I have arrived in England safe and sound. Drinking two glasses of lovely wine watching the Phillies lose while I waited for my 2hr delayed flight really helped my nerves. Then another bottle on the plan helped me sleep. Yay.

I am a bit freaked on flying anymore which sucks because I love to travel. As we get ready to depart, the pilot apologized for the delay as the plan had technical difficulties that had to be resolved before flight. Ugh. So the plane made it across the pond, will it make it one more time for my flight?! Yes, yes, I will have more drinks on the plane.

Another dilemma that I had was I packed two bottles of champagne in my checked luggage. Since I am on a long holiday of six days, my bag had too much room for the bottles to break. I packed all my clothes around the padded and zip-locked bag of champagne and shove an extra fleece just for protection. They survived the trip, too.

I am off for Paris today to celebrate Cory's 40th birthday with her English friends. I must be off to take the Eurostar in first class. We will have champagne for breakfast. Lovely!! I will write more when I return. Au revoir!!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-28T19:56:00.029-04:00

MUHAHAHA!

I did the scooping and Brad did the carving. This is how I felt after my little scary incident below with a clueless construction dude. We brought home two of these pumpkins two weeks ago. Squirrels ate the tongue, ears and teeth but they pretty much survived until the recent rain. I am holding out one more day to light our pumpkin. The other one with the hat ate it with the rain. All mushy and buggy. MUHAHAHA!

Helmet smashed and broken.

Yea, it sucks but it comes with the territory. Wear your helmets. Period. We were not riding fast as there was road work that had construction people directing us where to go. Then a clueless construction dude walked across the road from the left, across TWO lanes of traffic. Yes, two lanes. So he stopped in the middle then continued walking while not looking. What was he thinking?!! Brad yelled at him but I guess I did not hear him or Andy due to the jackhammering and I was paying attention to all the gravel and cuts in the road. I was SO close to missing the guy as he froze then he decided to move as I was riding right at him. I went left and he stepped back and my front wheel grazed him enough to take me out and into the other lane of traffic. I swore a lot looking at the front end of a car about two feet away. I then grabbed my bike and mindlessly walked to the side of the road as Brad gathered himself not to hurt the guy. Nothing broken, thank goodness just the usual bruises, scrapes and bumps from crashing.

We rode home then drove to the ER. All I can say is if you don't have to go to the doctor's office or ER, do not. Everyone is sick. I have not been watching the news so I had little idea how crazy the "flu" is. Brad grabbed a face mask for me and I told him to leave. I ended up being there for three hours and people kept pouring in with sick little babies. Brad did come back for the last hour as we waited for the cat scan result (mild concussion).

I went to work yesterday as I thought I would be okay. The doctor said to rest and don't do a lot of concentration or anything you have to focus on. I thought I felt fine (little blue pills do wonders). I should of listened as I am paying for it today. Even with a mild concussion, it was tough to concentrate. I don't remember what I worked on yesterday. Today, I was (more) easily irritated, had a headache and said things that should not have been said. After I inserted my foot into my mouth, I finished up a job and left work (a little too late). Wow, I am exhausted. I know, I shouldn't be typing so I will sign off for now as the head is still achy and I need to take another little blue pill.

Road Trip to Hull, Massachuetts

2009-10-09T16:35:00.024-04:00

My home computer's hard drive died so it has been a while for me to post. It was very painful to loose some pictures and videos from the last few months. Luckily I had copied most of my photos but I lost about two months of pictures that I thought I really did not care about until every once in a while I would remember a fun photo of a group of us riding through Smith Island, Maryland, or the Pelicans sitting on the posts at a rundown fishing dock, or the dreary weather and bright colors of Provincetown, Massachuetts or the fascinating 90-second video of those 510 ton generators moving along at two-three miles an hour. Sure, I can eventually watch the Discovery Channel about the generators but how much fun is that when I had my own personal video without commentary. I think photographs are an easy way to capture and catalog our memories. This is my reminder to all of us to back-up our computers regularly as the little things as losing a few photos and (a lot) of music can be costly.

Enjoy some views of boats, beaches, bikes and lighthouses in and around Hull, Massachuetts in late September.

"Doctor's Island" off of Black Rock Beach.

Git'R Done ~ Italian Style

2009-09-21T12:16:00.024-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Areva, delivered TMI's two new (French constructed) 510 ton generators in Port Deposit, Maryland. All I knew was in a couple of weeks, the procession would be disrupting our afternoon ride we call the "Stick Ride". Last week we rode through "road closed" barriers and walked through dirt and gravel while sub-contractors worked on reinforcing the bridges that the generators would be traveling over this week.

Friday night, the gigantic generators arrived in our back yard. Since they do not travel on the weekends (except for one exception next Sunday night 9/27 after midnight since they will be traveling across a major highway), they sat parked, heavily secured by the Pennsylvania State Police. Karen and I detoured our ride loop to check them out. About 20+ people leaned up against the barriers drinking coffee and talking with perfect strangers. The PA State Police gave us a few facts (33 million in security, 26 axles broken down to 12 & 14 axel units with hydrolic lines, 208 wheels, moves a maximum of 3 miles per hour...) I decided I had to see these things on the move. After our ride fabulous ride on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I headed into the office and changed my week off for Vegas to taking Monday morning off to watch the generators. Yea, a stay~cation to ride, sit and ride.
Saturday's pre-ride festivities. Later, I find out that the crowds grew by the hour and PA State Police and Areva staff were busy all weekend long answering questions and guarding the generators.

Monday: We were like Nascar fans that sit on the side of the road watching the trucks carrying the cars driving by on the highways. We sat watching the generators move. I think the difference with the generator fans is that we watched in amazement and awe at the art of moving these massive engineering masterpieces. The Fagioli, moving crew think the crowds are amazing. Someone mentioned they move oil rigs and other massive items all over the world and have not had the crowds that the generators draw.

The "moving crew" from Italy drove these generators on trailers using joysticks.

Dogs and Kids

2009-09-13T19:02:00.019-04:00

One of the luxuries of not having kids or dogs allows us to pack a bag(s) and go for a weekend. On a dreary, rainy day, we packed for the Cape to pick up an old Raleigh Ober ordered off of Ebay.I love road trips. As usual, I had four bags to his one. Some were shared as I packed food for the drive and then my school books (taking my 1st graduate class after being out of university for 11 yrs). I quickly researched the happenings for the area and got it in my head that I wanted to head to Provincetown after we picked up the Raleigh in Hyannis. The weather rained for most of our drive on Saturday then the sun came out when we arrived at Hyannis. We had lunch at a local spot, nothing spectacular except for the Foncite Napoletana (eggplant stuffed with ricotta cheese topped with marinara & melted cheese). It pays off to travel with food for the drive so we can splurge on a great meal or two and arrive in record time (even with bad weather). After picking up the bike, we drove to Provincetown.
We decided to stay in town as the weather probably allowed for some places to have openings. It was slim pickings but we found a place a block from the main street; Commercial Street. The rain started to fall lightly but we walked the streets for drinks, food and football. I loved the town and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-12T17:43:00.003-04:00

Smalltown, USA

2009-09-05T15:48:00.007-04:00

I painfully entered the 62nd Annual Hard Crab Derby with Brad's family. The weather was fabulous at the Southern-most town in the State of Maryland. With nine crabs entered in the derby, we had to go and watch the heats. Nathan, Rachel and Brad stayed back at the condo to rest and study.

Our crabs were scattered throughout the heats. With seven heats of 50 crabs, the first three crabs made it to the final round. We all left after Max's heat with none of us in the final round. Rox stayed to watch the rest of our crabs race.

When we got back to the condo, Rox texted that Brad's crab, Cavendish, finished second in his heat; making it to the final. So we hopped in the van just in case we needed to be ready for the podium. Brad's crab needed some of his teammates to help him out as he did not finish in the final three. The winner was a local who won last year. Top prize was $500. We think it was fixed!!

Wow? Is this a Luna Moth? I think the poor thing is dead. Bummer, so beautiful.

My consolation prize - a picture for my pretties. :-)

62nd National Hard Crab Derby

Miss Crisfield was busy with her duties at the Hard Crab Derby so 4th Runner Up was kind enough to pose for a picture.

Lost River in July

2009-08-25T18:44:00.004-04:00

Fun in West Virginia.

Shoes

2009-08-15T06:18:00.005-04:00

I have become more practical with my shoes and fell in love with Danskos. (I would kill myself in the above shoes!) We have an outlet center about an hour away. Today they have a sale and a few of us from work are going this morning. The ironic part is that we all wear the same size so there may be some fighting over shoes within the car. I mentioned that we should have a shoe coop. We could come to work with flip flops and decide what shoes to where out of our pool of Danksos when we get to work.

I just finished doing some yoga so I don't get too aggressive while shopping. And the bonus today is that today's shoppers get a free bag with a purchase. Yay!! Like I need another bag. I actually started giving some away. Aaaah. Breath in... Breath out. Wish me luck!

Cruisers

2009-08-14T21:25:00.014-04:00

We took our cruisers out for a Friday night spin for ice cream; hit the record on the DVR to tape the last few holes of the PGA; made it downtown Lancaster around 7:30 but did not get ice cream as the line grew as we tried to lock the bikes.

Instead, we rode up the alley to Carr's Restaurant for a beer. Tim Carr, the owner, has outdoor dining in the alley-way Fridays and Saturdays for the summer. Fabulous idea! capitalizing on First Friday's for sure. It is a great space dining in the alley. Tonight featured a a jazz band (last week was a bluegrass/folk band). I was dancing swing in my seat to Duke Ellington. (It don't mean a thing, when it ain't got that swing...) We enjoyed the evening then weaved our way around town on our way home to see the final second round holes of the PGA. (The pictures are from last Friday's, First Friday. The city was hopping! The Central Market building is to the left. I will post other pictures of that weekend later.)

It was betting night and I had Tiger leading by four under and the closest guy would be Harrington. As betting goes, I won and lost. It was painful as we watched Tiger get ready to chip in his third shot and the tape stopped with the club head paused up against the ball. Ugh. So here I am checking the Internet to see that he bogeyed the 18th. UGH! Yet he is still four under leading into the third round. Tiger, you are the Emperor!

Someone made the comment that he has the Emperor's ??? Two kids (of each gender), a Swedish wife and the millions. Huh? I thought the comment was pretty out there. He has the awesome talent to back it all up, though.

August Racing

2009-08-14T18:05:00.001-04:00

Not much of it! Enjoying the last major of the year. Hoping Tiger pulls it off for the year. Damn, he is struggling, again.

Why I Love Summer

2009-08-07T13:12:00.005-04:00

MJ & Blueberries

2009-08-07T12:47:00.003-04:00

My camera is working. Must keep it away for any moisture as I had it in a basket with cold cantalopes and even with the camera in the bag, the lens would not retract. But I got lucky, it is working after I borrowed a friend's camera for a weekend. Yay!

Blueberries and Tequila

2009-08-01T19:58:00.013-04:00

I had the most beautiful ride today that happened a bit after some whining. I had planned to do the A ride and get my arse handed to me but I thought I wanted to do a great workout. I had a cue sheet from doing the ride years ago so I was prepared to get dropped. Stanford gave me the "honey, why don't you ride to Christiana and feed us? You would have a tailwind and all." Grrr. When I am set with a plan, I don't like to change it. Those of you that know me, that's how I roll. But once I work though it, I can change.

So I googled what roads to use and since I was running late, I needed to ride one of the busier roads. The route was probably a little over 25 miles (a lot less than 37 hard, steady miles with the club ride) and slow. I enjoyed the scenery; looking around at the cows, chickens, property auctions, the Amish, etc. Everyone including the animals said hello and smiled back. The humidity had not kicked in yet and the farmlands of Lancaster County were lush green. There were tourists on bikes taking pictures of albino deer, vans of tourists visiting Mascot Roller Mills, others bused in buying fresh pies, soft pretzels, eggs and miniature horses. I rode roads that I had not ventured on yet and even though they rolled up, they were the most beautiful.

Route 772 (east) was the busy road I traveled on to get to Christiana and it had a decent shoulder. I turned on Hensel Road and it was breathtaking. As I rolled up the hill looking at someone's colorful flowers, I turned around and saw their fabulous view of Lancaster County. The other beautiful roads were Hoover and Smyrna Roads. The tourists were out in full force today and I was reminded why. Even I was one of the sights as a guide pointed me out as I passed their "buggy".

The other plus was that I got to be with me. I know, painful, isn't it? (Yes, quiet time can surely be painful, especially with one's self.) As I was talking to the animals and Amish, I also worked through some of my stuff. Or at least acknowledged "my stuff", reminded myself to love and be loved, how precious life is and it's worth the fight (whatever your vice or illness), and that riding a bike can just be enough sometimes. It is great to clear the head and just be ... with you and me.

Mt. Ventoux Race Weekend

2009-07-21T18:34:00.008-04:00

For those racing state-side on the East Coast, you have your choice of racing in my neighborhood of Grandview Heights, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The riders have been previewing the course this week. Ober will have burgers, dogs & beer on hand. You may have to assist him or help yourself to the food & beer - you may have to make it yourself, too, as I will be in West Virgina racing my team race in the Lost River Valley.

Bring chairs and if you like - a watermelon or side dish would be greatly appreciated, too.

I am reminiscing to the days, Marcy, Blackie, Tim & I spent at the 2004 TDF.

Carcassonne Start (Southern France) - Ekimov

The caravan...
Hey!! How did that American get on the INSIDE... On the other side of that Powerbar feed station was the sign-in for the riders. We left Blackie on La Mongie DAYS ago. That is how our trip went for two plus weeks. Blackie would disappear on a stage and we would somehow meet up with him days later at another stage. Mind you, we did not have cells phones back then so there wasn't any texting and calling to meet up.

Mt. Ventoux!! Blackie left us at the town at the bottom (Bedoin) of Ventoux, drove our car to the top and he met people that drove him to the next stage. Thank goodness as we ROASTED on the climb; handed off our helmets to him on our ride up, he handed bars to us and then we were thankful to have the car at the top because we would have FROZE if we had to ride down.

Life is Good

2009-07-17T18:16:00.021-04:00

Even though my digital camera died (retractable lens does not retract) over the 4th of July weekend, Life Is Good.

Work still is stressful but what is new. I had a fabulous birthday week spending some time with my 16 year old nephew. He attended a Technology Camp at my workplace so I was his transport. We ate the best sticky buns in the world, the biggest, greasiest, yummiest stromboli in Millersville, University-function-tasty pulled pork barbeque and the best Thai in Mountville. Being 16 means he has his driving permit. Oh yea! Trying to be a good Aunt, I let him drive home today. Wow, I am getting old. So I did my best to not tell him about all my crashes, speeding tickets and totaled vehicles.

He has only driven with his parents in their SUV. My Prius gave him a different perspective on the road. It brought him closer to the road and he seemed better at judging where we was in the lane. I think driving my car was the best part of his week.

If I had a working camera, you would see the yummiest, organic, NJ blueberries. We usually do not give either presents as we try to do little gifts and special dinners throughout the year. But I said, if you want to buy me something, Millers Natural Store in Bird-In-Hand, has a $28, 20 pound box of organic blueberries! Woohoo! We are stocked if we don't eat them all by the end of summer.

Tomorrow, after I work one of those Saturdays I always try to get out of working, I will enjoy some great ale attending my first beer festival. I am so excited to get my growler filled and reminisce about the taprooms in Montana. (Missing you Broeder!) Then, Sunday I visit a truly awesome friend on holiday from her home away from home - Hardwick, England.

Life Is Good. Great family, friends and fun.

MJ

2009-07-07T19:17:00.004-04:00

Okay, I have been sucked in just a little bit. Brad pulled out some of his albums and I am playing ABC. If my camera wasn't broken I would show you a picture of Michael on a bike on the back side cover of Ben. Pretty cool. So I set up a little altar for MJ by placing that back side- album cover over my 2004 Lance picture.

"The Ultimate Line"

2009-07-01T21:29:00.004-04:00

I love Maureen Dowd.

Jenny Sanford should tell her husband to take a hike, for real! And not come back.

Crabs!

2009-06-11T18:50:00.005-04:00

Brad was on the Eastern Shore last Wednesday so he had to buy some crabs. I had a long week for the last few weeks and he wanted helped cooking the crabs - at 9:30 p.m. You got to be kidding me?!

I helped by reading instructions from Google on how to cook crabs. I tried my best to stay calm reading the recipes as those blue crabs were alive. We stunned them in ice water before steaming them. The cats ran around the house like wild elephants not sure with what we were doing. I tried to show Smeeges the box of crabs and it did not quite work out. Smeeges prefers being an ant eater. Much easier and safer than a box of crabs.

Little Aardvark.

The Sweet Rides

2009-06-02T21:57:00.001-04:00

DOAPH! How did those Specialized get in the picture...

Ober's New Ride

2009-05-29T05:52:00.004-04:00

He bought a Ross, EuroTour at the Horst Auction Center! It was dangerous when we lived down the street from the center because we would go to the auctions every Wednesday night, half the time just for the chicken corn soup. Now we have our little market bikes with racks on the back. I paid a pretty penny for my Schwinn at the veloswap years ago. Brad got a sweet deal ($13.25 baby!) and he has a bell, speedometer and mirror.

Strawberry Swing

2009-05-24T23:59:00.005-04:00

Guess what music I will be listening to for Somerville? COLDPLAY!! They rock. Just saw them at Hersheypark Stadium. Balloons and Butterflies. The balloons were a dangerous distraction during "Yellow" and we caught two butterflies to I don't remember the song? Then they gave out these free cds after the concert. Yay! Love free stuff. I actually just downloaded the album yesterday. :-) I think my legs may be a little wrecked from all the dancing - but oh well. Life is too short.

Lazy

2009-04-30T19:50:00.007-04:00

I want to blame it on the heat last weekend and work. Luckily, I have ridden my bike everyday this week but only commuting a big 14 mile round trip (except for Wednesday - I took the bus home because I had a flat and I didn't want to waste a CO2 cartridge [LAZY!])

I talked myself out of another ride after work, arriving at home to a fabulous meal made by my man, Ober and his Dad. I planted the last of my snapdragons and feasted on 3-Buck Chuck Chardonnay, Cajun catfish, black rice cooked in coconut milk and one of my favorite veggies-asparagus.

Hmmm. A couple weeks ago I raced a local crit and one of the PA Women's Cycling sponsors handed out boxes of cake and frosting mix. After such a hard week of training (ha!), I decided to make CUPCAKES!!!

You know, I have not made a cake from a box in over ten plus years. I was a little nervous. I figured cake is cake. I thought it would be sweet and sugary. It actually tasted good and healthy. Not the bad, dry and no flavor healthy but satisfying. Now I did substitute egg whites for eggs and I did not use a whole stick of butter for the frosting. I suck at making frosting, even out of a box. I am not a good whisker. Oh, I did not spread it on fully cooled cupcakes. That could be part of the problem that the frosting ran down the sides. Oh well, I am not so great at presentation, either. So, if you have the urge to have your cake and eat it too, check out Naturally Nora, Alot'A Dots. Yummy!!

I am a motorized vehicle!

2009-04-27T17:17:00.003-04:00

I had my second encounter of banging a car with my hand. I always think about it but we are usually moving and I just force myself to play it safe. The first incident was in the last 2 miles of the busy stretch home. I was coming up along side of the cars going straight through the intersection. A car decided to go around a turning car and about wacked me off my bike until I wacked his car with my left hand. I scared the crap out of him as he did of me. He never saw me and he eased off.

Tonight. Same area. For those local, turning left off of North Frederick and onto North Plum. I usually take the lane when I have to turn left. I was stopped because traffic was coming from all ways - I have signaled a few times but it is not like we have a "turn signal". So Grandpa decided to go around me into the left lane, brushing the left side of me as I ended up banging the top of his hood with my left arm. "What the hell are you doing?! I am a motorized vehicle!" He looked at me as if I appeared out of nowhere and should get out of his way. I just leaned into his SUV and pushed out into the intersection, hoping the on-coming traffic would give me the right away. Thank goodness they did.

Now enjoy a great laugh as I could not get up the climb to look good for the camera. Actually, I don't remember a photographer on Pain Mountain.

Last Weekend in April

2009-04-26T21:12:00.020-04:00

Sorry for the slacking on the posts - life has been hectic. I still have pictures and videos to post from my travels to Texas in February.

Stage raced locally this last weekend in April, and all is good in the end in the Tour de Ephrata (at least for me). We had a record field of 70+ for the women's open field.

Saturday, I was surprisingly able to "MOVE UP, MOVE UP!" :-0 from 71+ to the top third of the field and surfed the front off and on as road racing goes. It stayed together for a sprint finish so I tried to get away twice within a few KMs to go (HA! Right.) and NO go. With 200 meters to go, I tired again with the rest of the pack and chickened out as 30 women flew by me. I was at least safe, no road rash and ready to garden. Goal for the day was to finish top five or garden at our veggie garden plot. Guess I was gardening.

Not. Fed the next wave of races for the 35+ field and also tried to help Bad Kat feed Bad Andy's team in the 1/2/3. It got HOT in the feedzone so I ate some burgers and hung out. Still had the gardening bug, especially as the race course passed a greenhouse on the course so I stopped on the way home. After picking out a tray of red peppers and snap dragons, I about passed out in the greenhouse. What was I thinking? Grabbed another tray of flowers and rushed home as I had more errands to run.

Sidetracked again after I dropped off the plants and shopped at Costco; the next thing I knew, I saddled up to the bar and had a Guinness and a cup of soup. Ah, great recovery with the 2009 NFL draft on the tv. Finally made it home for real recovery. But Brad decided we would visit fellow racer friends in the neighborhood and before we knew it, Brad was ripping up there stairs.

Sunday morning was a bag of excuses. All I could hope for is that I looked good trying to race my arse off up Pain Mountain. Gotta love Lancaster County; Even though I see cows and goats all the time, I was talking to them after the time trial and taking pictures of them.

Off to Ephrata for the downtown crit. Went to chow on some bagels but got sidetracked to the soft pretzel trailer. Oh, yea. Hit the spot with a cold coke in our second, 90 degree day in a row. (What happened to spring?! Waa, Waa...)

So I did all the wrong things today but had a good time but with no results. And I am fine with that as I still have all my skin. Bulleted home for a quick shower to attend a meeting to recruit some board members and camp committee members.

Ending the evening selling old air conditioners (Used craigslist to sell something for the first time - sweet!), pulled out the keepers and put them in the windows for our fantastic summer weather (Freakin' global warming - I knew it was going to go from cold, wet and freezing weather to damn hot weather. %#$*&! ), planted those flowers in baskets and boxes, drank lots of beer with friends and now finishing of this post to fabulous folk music on XPN (Love the Dulcimer).

The USA Triple Crown of Cycling Needs Our Help

2009-04-22T18:46:00.004-04:00

Remember Eric Heiden winning the inaugural CoreStates USPRO event? Lance Armstrong winning the Triple Crown of Cycling in 1993 (112-mile Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the six-day Kmart West Virginia Classic stage race and the ninth running of what was then the CoreStates USPRO Championship)? Or Petra Rossner's domination of the Liberty Classic, or Lynn Bessette ending her former teammate's winning streak...

Well, in its 25th year, the race known as by the various banking institutions of CoreStates - First Union - Wachovia - Commerce Bank and now TD Bank Philadelphia - is in financial difficulties. Please read a message from the Race Founders; David Chauner and Jerry Casale.

"The event that started it all for international, professional cycling in the U.S. needs your help. After 24 years as the largest single-day, professional cycling race in North America, the Philadelphia International Championship is in jeopardy.

The economic challenges experienced in both corporate and civic circles have converged to create a shortfall in the operating budget of the race’s 25th year, and the reality of the situation is that unless a $500,000 gap can be closed in the next several days, the race will be cancelled. (To read an article on the status of the race in The Philadelphia Inquirer, click here.)

While the scenario seems extraordinary, what we know is truly extraordinary is the love of this event among fans, cyclists and sports enthusiasts in Philadelphia, throughout the Delaware Valley and across the country. This is a decidedly difficult position for any event organizer – and perhaps one that’s become too familiar in recent months.

However, it is because of the incredible support the Philly race has enjoyed throughout its history, that we are bringing an appeal directly to you, the fans and cycling community.

Thousands of fans line the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and streets of Manayunk each June to watch the world’s best in this sport. There is power in those numbers, and we’re hoping that power can help save the 25th running of the race.

HOW YOU CAN HELP – PURCHASE A TICKET, A POSTER OR A DECAL…
If you are interested in helping, there are three immediate ways to do so.
1. You can go online right now and buy Champions Row VIP tickets for $100 or $75 each. Our goal is to sell 3,000 VIP tickets for this first-ever opportunity to be under tent at the start/finish line for all of the racing action. These tickets include all-day catered buffets, complimentary beverages, drawings for pace car rides, VIP credential, a rider appearance, free transport to and from Manayunk and parking. CLICK HERE TO BUY THE TICKETS NOW.
2. You can buy a $10 official Embrace the Race poster. CLICK HERE TO BUY THE POSTER NOW.
3. You can also buy a $5 official Philadelphia International Cycling Championship Embrace the Race decal. CLICK HERE TO BUY THE STICKER NOW.

Please note: If the goal is not met and the race is canceled, ALL VIP TICKETS WILL BE FULLY REFUNDED and proceeds from Embrace the Race poster and decal purchases will be donated to one or more local charities that support cycling development in the Delaware Valley.

If just 3,000 people out of the 350,000 fans who come every year to the event each buy a Champions Row VIP ticket, the gap will be significantly reduced. If 50,000 people purchase a $10 Embrace the Race commemorative poster, the gap will be closed. Whatever your purchase, your Embrace of the Race and the support that goes with that will be deeply appreciated.

Your support over the years has never gone unnoticed or been underestimated. We hope to see you on June 7!

Thank you.
David Chauner and Jerry Casale
Race Founders
https://pct.ticketleap.com/ (Tickets, posters, and stickers)"

Back Nine on Sunday

2009-04-12T18:46:00.002-04:00

Never doubt the back nine on Sunday at the Masters. Holy cow. I heard all the nay-sayers. Yea, Tiger did not win but hell, he and Phil were what, a combined 12 under at one point when the leaders were at a combined plus 3. I love when golf goes into play-offs.

Gotta put on the pjs and run around to get some more drinks, food and chocolate. Then - we shall watch Paris-Roubaix.

Recovery Time

2009-04-09T18:05:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite time of the sports year; The Masters and the best Classics (Flanders, GW, PR). Need some recovery, sit down and watch some grass grow on the golf course. Just a fabulous time on the couch.

I come into the Tournament and Tiger is down by 8 (Leaders were at -8; he at Even). He if F*ckn amazing. Cool as a cucumber.

Life is good. My hammies are fried from climbing all weekend and I then go and ride the Conestoga Challenge course. Damn-PA guys, get you climbing legs ready. This course is incredible but you better be able to climb. There are some flat and roller sections but those mountain goats will rip your legs off.

It's Been A Long Time

2009-03-29T20:35:00.002-04:00

Sorry for not posting in a while. I still have some photos from last month's excursion to share. But to break the void - here I go again (and did you notice I am a Zeppelin fan?!)...

TIGER WOODS is the man! Every time someone catches me watching golf, they asked "You like watching golf?!" Only when Tiger plays. And lately, he has made it even more exciting because is human. Bum knee, stress fracture, married with kids, ... but he can still pull of a win. Awesome.

Day in the life of Bellie

2009-03-12T20:39:00.004-04:00

Flipping channels can't be too bad when you come across the Foo Fighters in Wembley Stadium. Brad flips to a movie and I run upstairs, turn on the Foo Fighters and watch Jon Stewart on the computer with the Financial CNBC battle - Cramer vs. Non-Cramer battle. (Damn, I don't remember Jon Stewart saying the "F" word so many times. Hilarious!!)

The Foo Fighters play a rocking song "All My Life" then they do the - end the concert with an encore thingie. Dave Grohl rattled off something about the crowd being awesome, this is the greatest night in the band's life, gotta take advantage of the f$&%*'n awesomely, incredible place like Wembley Stadium and who else walked onto the stage but Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones!!!!!!!!!!! I am jumping up and down in the kitchen silently screaming. I played the best air guitar ever! Holy crap, Jimmy Page looks old but still can Rock n' Roll!

International Women's Day

2009-03-08T21:38:00.003-04:00

March 8, 2009 ~ A day to recognize and celebrate the important social, political and economic contributions women make to society.

Mellow Johnny's

2009-03-07T16:58:00.004-05:00

The Tour Jersey Marcy & I saw live in 2004.

This piece of art has tour stages written on all these riders.

Duh!

2009-02-25T19:06:00.006-05:00

I think what I heard on NBC Nightly news; "Magic Formula... It's all about how much we are putting in our mouths."

Calories in, calories out, balancing it all with exercise. Plain and simple. (NEJM - Full Findings volume 360:859-873 Feb 26, 2009 Number 9)

Now how much money did it take to figure that out?

Home Again

2009-02-25T06:08:00.012-05:00

Okay. A little painful for me but here is a "post" by Ober unedited by me (except for adding the pictures).

Bellie and I returned home safely Saturday night after 8 weeks of being on the road...
over 11,000 miles driven
20 states
2 oil changes
1 cracked windshield
1 speeding ticket (Wyoming)
1 warning (Texas)
Saw Bald Eagles..golden Eagles..hundreds of Hawks (of all kinds and in every state)..Big horn sheep...a black bear...Elk..Moose...Bison...grey Fox...red Fox....Bobcat...wild goats...wild horses..mule deer...white tail deer...antelope...and a few people who looked to be quite lost and homeless!
About $865 in gas
Spent 14 nights in hotel rooms
Saw a lot of old friends in a lot of beautiful places
Met some new friends
Had a chance to visit family
Got a chance to spend a bunch of hours with myself...the hardest part of traveling (while alone) was not having anyone to share the amazing beauty I was able to see on this journey... the barren East Texas landscape, Sedona red rocks, vineyards of NorCal , Big Sky Country, the Grand Tetons of Wyoming and the endless mountain ranges in between..all unique...all so beautiful!
I need to thank those that helped Michele and I on our travels with lodging, food and beverages and most importantly, warmth and friendship
My Brothers Blake and Brooke and his family...I love you all
Mom and Dad...Art and Shirley...you are always there for me...thanks
Aaron & Annie and family....a really nice evening together that was way to due to take place!
All the folks @ the Mill Iron Ranch...what a magical place
Mike ,Ellie and Amelia Pflieger...you got the life dude!!!...we are happy for you
Becky Broeder and Will....thanks for the hospitality u 2...we are still drooling over the Elk feast and micro brew!
John & Linda Elgart...I can't thank you enough for the hospitality and inside vantage point of Sacramento..I hope i can return the favor here in Lancaster some day!
Marian & Eric Spector & family...always good to see you all ...another great view you have!
Scott Z...what a ride Z..lets do that again with the whole crew next time!
Barb & David George...Sara & Ben...so nice to re-connect after all these years
Jon & Cheryl ,Katie and Clay Cooper..Coop, thank you so much for putting us up..felt like we picked up where we left off, all those years ago.
If I forgot anyone, sorry! The door is always open here in Lancaster!

Southern Lake Tahoe, CA.

Pecan trees outside of Medesto.

Border Patrol Check Point near El Paso.

Sunday Worlds

2009-02-22T13:44:00.009-05:00

Stupid Worlds for me. It was snowing when we left the house. That should have been a sign to stay INDOORS!

One and half hours after I have been home, my feet are still frozen. Halfway through the 40 mile loop that I even lopped off 5 miles - I was drenched from riding behind ten silly other riders. Once the cold rain and snow drenched my clothes and I turned into a headwind, I was a Popsicle. I could not feel my legs after a while and I talked (& complained) all the way home. All I could think about was anything with a prefix of "HOT"; hot tea, hot chocolate, hot bread, hot toddies, hot tub...

Finally home, my clothes were frozen to my skin that I could not peel them off. I'm typing with my tongue right now as I am still frozen. Missing Texas (and Asheville) right now.

Art broke his chain at the Juke Box. Ober & Wilson pushed him to our house (2 miles).

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the stupidest of them all?!

Damn. New long sleeve jersey wrecked. Hoping the grime and horse poop comes out.

A Little Texas Highway History

2009-02-20T00:01:00.003-05:00

We found the Frontage Roads dangerous, especially around Kyle and Austin. They are two-way and "ramp on" the highway. Coming back from Austin the other day we saw a nasty crash on one of those Frontage Roads.

From http://www.texashighwayman.com/tex.htm

Exits, entrances, and the ubiquitous frontage roads
As you drive through Texas, you may notice that exits and entrances on many of our Interstates tend to be more frequent than in other states. This is the result of the wishes of a former and long-time director of the state highway department, Dewitt Greer. It was his belief that, given the vastness of the state, Interstates should not just serve "interstate" traffic, but also "interregional" traffic within Texas.

Another byproduct of this philosophy is perhaps the most unique feature of the state's highway system: frontage roads. There are almost 6,800 miles of these along freeways in Texas, more-- much more-- than any other state. The reason for the widespread use of frontage roads in Texas again can be traced to Dewitt Greer. He decided that it was cheaper to build frontage roads to keep access to adjacent properties than it was to purchase those access rights, which is required under state law. This quickly became standard operating procedure at the Highway Department (and subsequently TxDOT) and nearly all of the state's freeways were built under this policy. In June 2001, the Texas Transportation Commission considered a major policy change that would've rocked TxDOT and Texans in general to the core-- frontage roads would not be included in any new freeways unless absolutely necessary. This was a fundamental change and caused quite a stir around the state-- enough of one that the Commission decided, after statewide hearings, to scrap the idea.

There are several ramp configurations used with frontage roads. The "diamond" interchange is pretty standard, with the on- and off-ramps connecting to the frontage roads in the general shape of a diamond relative to the cross street (see illustration below). Sometimes, especially in urban areas, the ramps are reversed in an "X"-interchange with the exit ramp for the next cross street preceding the entrance ramp from the previous cross street. This allows traffic to weave on the frontage road rather than the freeway. Occasionally, if space is limited, both the on and off ramps are built at the same location in a "braided" arrangement (i.e. one ramp passes-over the other).

Frontage roads with diamond interchanges

Frontage roads with "X" interchanges

Speed limits on frontage roads generally range from 60 mph in rural areas to 40-50 mph in urban areas. In urban areas, access roads are one-way in the same direction as the adjacent freeway lanes. In rural areas they are generally two-way. On the frontage road, traffic leaving or entering the freeway has the right-of-way. Yield signs are usually posted, but in many areas they're lacking. Many drivers don't realize that even if there's no sign, they're still required to yield.

Our ubiquitous frontage roads are an oddity unique to Texas. However, within Texas, frontage roads have their own oddity. If you travel through the state, you may notice that people in each of the major cities call their frontage roads something different: in Houston, they're "feeder" roads; in Dallas-Ft. Worth, they're "service" roads; in San Antonio, they're "access" roads. I've heard that they're known as "gateways" in El Paso. The term used in Austin and the state's official term is "frontage" road, which is how you'll see them marked on guide signs statewide, even in the aforementioned areas where the popular semantics differ. You can often tell what part of the state someone hails from just by asking them what they call that road next to the freeway.

It should be noted that frontage roads (or whatever you call them) are not just found on
Interstates-- the freeway segments of many US and state highways also feature frontage roads.

Texans are frequently surprised when they go to other places and find no frontage roads. I often hear people talk about their trips to _____ and one topic that often comes-up is, "They don't have frontage roads on their highways!" Most native Texans don't realize how much of an oddity our extensive frontage roads are. Conversely, many out-of-state visitors immediately notice and comment on our frontage roads. It's usually about 50-50 between thumbs-up and thumbs-down.

Farm-to-market roads

More than half of the state's highway system is comprised of the Farm-to-Market (FM) road system, which also includes Ranch-to-Market (RM) roads and Ranch Roads (RR). Although started in the late 1930s, the system really grew after the 1949 Legislature set aside $15 million annually from the state's General Fund for their construction. General Fund money is no longer used, but the FM system is still paid for entirely by the state. The FM system is the most extensively developed rural highway system in the nation. Its nearly 41,000 miles is more than double the entire state highway mileage of the six New England states combined. There is no difference between FM, RM, and RR routes-- just more Texas highway semantics.

False Flats, False Tempo

2009-02-19T16:34:00.003-05:00

Brad had to set a false tempo so that I would not break away. (Note sarcasm) All I saw was butt, wheel and tarmac. Almost did a Leipheimer but I was able to keep it upright. At that point, I let his wheel go for the upteenth time and rode my tempo (crabby slow) on FM 1626. 50+ miles in 2:45 - felt like 50+ miles in 2 hrs. #^@*#!*%

Grand Tour of San Antonio Central & Riverwalk

2009-02-19T10:38:00.004-05:00

San Antonio Fashion

2009-02-19T10:30:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when you live out of a hotel. When we did the Sunday, S.A. Wheelmen ride, we thought we would be going back to the hotel so I did not pack an extra set of cycling clothes or any "going out" clothes. After the first ride, we realized we did not have time to drive back to the hotel. Then, after the tourist ride, it made sense just to stay downtown to check out the Riverwalk. Luckily I had the shorts. I was styling.

Dam Loop

2009-02-18T21:45:00.011-05:00

Yeah, the famous ride Lance wrote about in his first book. But eight years later with developments and shopping malls lining the route, I would not recommend doing the ride without having a local with you. Luckily, Andrew Stackhouse, who I met at Mellow Johnny's, had the day off and graciously took us out on the loop.

We rode on 6-lane highways. Crazy. The weather was in the mid-60s and it quickly rose to the low 80s. I felt as if I was moto paced by the guys (and probably traffic) all the way to Mansfield Dam. When we took the Low Water Crossing Road right after the Dam bridge, my legs started to fail. We climbed a walking path off of Low Water Crossing Rd for Bradley. Road across the bridge again and then climbed. The next hill that killed me was Big View Dr. Our detour (River Pl Blvd, Big View Dr-down&up, Narrow Ridge Dr, Westminster Glen Ave then left onto City Park Rd) to avoid the death defining descent of route 2222 became a dead end at the bottom of Big View Dr. Flying down Big View was scary enough and it was in a posh neighborhood. 2222 is 4-lane highway with no shoulders so I was happy that we had the detour until we had to TURN AROUND and climb up Big View Dr.

Brad cruised along City Park Road and Andrew and I sucked wheel to the bottom of 2222. The highway rolled up and down and the heat started to take a toll on me. All I could say is that I soaked it all in and was surprisingly not freaked out about all the traffic. At one point I almost grabbed a car because my legs were not used to all the tempo riding and I wanted help to get my ass back to the shop. Thanks to Austin Andrew for giving us an awesome 55 mile ride West of the city.

Liberty Bar

2009-02-16T00:03:00.007-05:00

We had a late lunch at the Liberty Bar with Jim and Dave. The house was structurally off kilter. I had a great meal (Chile Relleno a la Vino Andrea-stuffed chile ancho w/shrimp, almonds, black currants, apples, garlic & onions-Yum!) and Brad sadly did not (Roasted Leg of Lamb Sandwich with Aïoli Morita). Check out the menu - they have a great selection of meals.

Since we were close, we drove downtown to do the Riverwalk. Yay! Dinner was a 60 oz Margarita. Thank goodness we shared it and had a little help from Dave.

Out of Towners

2009-02-15T22:40:00.008-05:00

We rode 45 miles with the San Antonio Wheelmen - A fairly flat ride southeast of the city. I had my 2002 OCLV Trek "trainer bike" that I had lent to a friend and I forgot about double checking the saddle height. I remembered that her son borrowed it but all I thought was - at least I know the bike would be functional on the road. (I know-space cadet!) We rolled out of the parking lot and I was all jacked up. I thought about doing the pro thing and lower the saddle while riding but my team car wasn't with me on this trip. So I stopped and dropped the saddle 3 cm and hoped on Brad's wheel and we chased. The group was already single file so Brad rolled up to the front. Little did I know that the other guy was an out of towner and they set the pace. Luckily, most of the riders were able to hang as the pace was probably about 16 mph until the other out of towner (Denver Dave Haar) who was late to the start, caught us. I was so thankful for the rest stop as I did not lower my saddle enough. When I got off the bike, my hip flexors were throbbing. Doaph. Fueled and readjusted, we rolled with a smaller group doing the 50 mile loop. We met great people and Brad hammered the second half of the ride, dropping all of us one at a time.

At the rest stop, I was able to talk Denver Jim into doing a second s.a.w. ride in the PM; "grand tour of San Antonio Central (City)". As I unhinged into the wind, and took a few pulls with Denver Jim and another guy, I questioned the 2nd ride - even if it was going to be at 12 mph. Brad finished his interval and we caught back on. We let him roll off alone on his next effort and for the last, one guy and I worked the sweet spot until we hit a pass over.

So the out of towners ruled the ride and I hope it was okay - Thanks S.A.W. Denver Jim, Dave joined us for the 2nd ride and we made it halfway. If you thought an "any town club ride" could be dangerous, try doing one that was geared towards tourists. Wow, we were six abreast after the ride leader gave us a detailed "rules of the road" lecture. Luckily, the drivers were gracious. I rode in the back "sweeping" with the camera. Not used to riding the Trek in a while, I had to stop to take pictures. Multi-tasking didn't work so the sweeping turned into sprinting. It was a fun and entertaining way to see the city as Ken, the rider leader, knew his history. The best part was Williams St. This area's restoration was started by one man. Right, I was taking pictures and did not get to hear all the stories first hand. Google hasn't helped me out and I am getting sleepy.

Tomorrow is a big day as Brad, Denver Jim, Dave and I will be riding 87 miles from a "mapmyride" ride. Hmm. Hasta manana.

Traveling Thoughts

2009-02-14T10:19:00.004-05:00

Traveling by myself, I get to listen and observe. The train ride from Lancaster to Philadelphia was reflective. Farmland, Amish buggies, goats and cows for the first half of the ride reminded me that we live in a beautiful place. As I dozed in and out of other people's conversations, I was glad to hear a woman in her late 40s appreciate her liberal arts education. I work at a liberal arts, state university and the some students just shy away from the importance of general education. The woman has an Arts History degree and she said if she never did anything with her degree (which I doubt has happened), she appreciated taking writing courses, the sciences and social sciences as they are necessary for everyday life.

They talked about their professions (one is a special education teacher working with autistic children, husband unemployed, art historian??), their kids, family, veteran/war experiences and the state of the economy. These people did not know each other before they entered the train but they could have as they lived in many similar places across the country (Portland, Fairfax, family in Lancaster). It is comforting to know that we still have an interest and care for each other.

As I waddled from one train to another, a smile or a chuckle at what a sight I might have been made me laugh, too. I love the sense of independence, connection and freedom in traveling. Wishing I could stay in Philadelphia to go to the Art Museums, eat in fabulous restaurants and just breath the city, I am again thankful of my home. We live near the best metropolitan cities in the world (DC, Philadelphia & NYC). We could be at any one of them in less than three hours (especially if Brad is driving). So here I am, sitting at the airport, loving home.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles

2009-02-14T07:31:00.002-05:00

I am blogging at the train station, off on another adventure. Since I am flying out of Philadelphia one-way, I did not want to have a car at the airport. I did not want to bug friends to drive me to the airport because they would be riding or baking today.

So I am doing the train. The station is 1.3 miles from my house so I walked. I forgot about the bags. I walked into town last week for dinner (2 miles) and had no problem. Plus, it was 60 degrees and I had no bags. Not even a purse. Damn. My shoulder are killing me! My hips are kind of humming, too. Hey, I made it, though. I kept adding crap into my bags because I figured I would be driving back from San Antonio. Ugh. Even my purse is heavy because I have food and drink in it.

State of the World

2009-02-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

Just take time to slow down and put life into perspective.

State of the Economy

2009-02-06T23:45:00.012-05:00

What can wash away the blues but the blues? I was out for the first time in a while; without my man and not just for dinner. I went out on the town for First Friday. Most cities celebrate First Fridays; Art Galleries and stores open past 5 p.m. featuring local artists, food, music and more. I ended up not meeting my usual friends as something else was going on for all of them. (Right - I know they were all blowing me off :-)

Eventually I met a good friend and she invited me to join her and a bunch of her friends at Jethros; a local neighborhood bar. That is what it is - a bar, booths and tables that fill a row home. I have lived in Lancaster City, extended - for ten years but I have known about Jethros for twenty but never stepped foot in the place until last week.

I went to meet other friends and I was really late. Cramped and too packed, I walked in and left. Tonight, I had the same feeling but Marilyn saw me and I could not leave. We really went for the music but luckily had time for a meal, too.

I met really great people and they all went upstairs (yes, upstairs for those that don't know about the 2nd floor - house party with music). I was crammed in a booth with five of us so I ended up moving to the bar when they when upstairs. Now the bar scene is another story. All I can say is that I have had a few "pay it forward" experiences since last weekend. Steve Young said the "pay it forward" statement in an NPR story before all my experiences happened. And they happened to me - so eventually I will have to do my part and "pay it forward" for others. Sorry, I digress.

After I had a glass of wine, soup (herbed tomato) and an appetizer of mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, I made my way to the music.

Marilyn saved seats for us - thank goodness. The space is small with metal rocking, lawn chairs, benches, folding chairs, etc. The drywall bubbled in one section, another was ripped off, the ceiling had cracks and water spots, and the window behind me sent a draft of cold air through the crack in the window. There was a string of white Christmas lights, a high heeled, fishnet stocking lamp, Parcheesi-board games on the "bedside" table, and old pictures with bee-hived women.

Fabulous night to wash away the world. It seemed as if everything was okay in the world. I felt like I was having a martini moment, t00. (The first time I had a martini - nineteen years ago - was at a blues night at the Lizard Lounge and I wrote poetry.) Anyways, I could ramble on.

Let me just give you the songs and local musicians. We jammed to Sittin' on Top of the World ("since you have been gone - a song played in tribute to Mike Malone), 16 Tons, Back Room Girls (I think it was an original), Cover Me, Shes Got the Stuff (??), Mustang "Sally: __ (Sheila, Sandra, ...).

The musicians that I can remember: John - seemed like he came from work in his really nice, lawyer-like suit (he played with sunglasses and a fedora hat), Jimmy Blue (belly full of a jolly, black man), Kenny T (young guy - "white chocolate" as Jimmy called), the owner of Jethros and a congo drum man that I cannot recall his name. (Hey! I only had two glasses of wine.)

Hmmmm. What a night.