Valentine dinner and dance

I think that was the cleanest dance I've ever been to. No hint of trouble with booze, dope or even cigarettes could I find! Although the racy videos made up for it in raw sexuality, not that I would ever object to that. :D I got to play the heavy keeping kids out of the halls. I was only seriously challenged once, but I didn't hesitate and fortunately I must look a little unstable or something because I'm pretty sure he could have beat me to the punch if it came to that. < g > PU worked the coat check. We were both ready to turn into pumpkins by the time midnight rolled around. It was a long week to end it with a late night.

We had some fun. The DJ was a great help in keeping the energy high and interesting. He had videos and was scratching up a storm, singing and dancing along. He ended up out on the dance floor several times. He was a big hit.




Boo and Justin









Manon and Kevin

Mum's one woman show of water colour paintings

Here are Mum's water colour paintings that she'll be busy hanging soon for her first one woman show. Many of the framed shots had to be way off kilter so as to avoid the flash from washing parts of the image out completely.

Wrist warmers, gear cutters and a quilt

Here are some the promised images.

These are my new wrist warmers. Hopefully they will not be required until next winter, but that's not likely the way it's going to play out is it!



This is a small gear cutter. Dad has no recollection of how it works, but I presume that the indexing is done from the same shaft as the new blank is mounted to. I just can't accept that it might require risking the integrity of the old sample. It's also a problem for me to figure out how it is that one uses the old wheel for indexing the new blank in one setup. If there are teeth missing off the old wheel one would have to reset the blank to provide old teeth for the indexing. I've gone back to my old project for a small milling cutter. If anyone can enlighten me about this one, please pipe up.







Mum's recently finished quilt. It was a gift of material and pattern and not her choice.

Manon coming of age

Manon is headed for a dinner and dance at school and she's looking for shock value in all the right ways. Versatility rules! The girl in camouflage cargo pants is giving way to a more dynamic presentation.

Nobody at school has ever seen her dressed up or with the slightest bit feminine celebration showing. That's not entirely true now that I think about it. I don't think I told you about her going to school on Halloween dressed as a girl? If I did, not all have heard I'm sure.

Pretty hair, cute little dress, bracelet, socks and shoes all in sync with her age. The bus driver nearly blew it with laughter, but all was well after all and then the joke was on. Nobody sat with the new girl on the bus and nobody talked to her save the whispers behind the new girl's back until 10:00am when she came out of her own accord. Her stories of peoples reactions were priceless and it all provided Manon with a lot to think about. That was a couple of years ago now I think. Friday she's going to do it again, but this time she's got a boyfriend she likes and he's a real softy. She's a leggy lean good looking kid that's going to mess with some minds. Not that she doesn't entertain herself with that daily now, but in a good way this time, without any words. The outfit is chosen and the plan in place. The camera batteries are charged. I can't wait for the stories. She does enjoy her life.
Dex beats Ritalin every time.

Running the Frostbite and then the risking it

Experiment of one in full swing.

I don't know why I've written all this except that I enjoy the game of running. I'm a bit anxious about this run in March, but by now even I know I lack objectivity when it comes to my conditioning. There's nothing pressing and no problems to be seen. Just me blathering on about the progress I'm making into this uncharted territory in my running journey.

I feel as if I've had too little time to flirt with the Polar Bear 30km run across a small portion of Lake Winnipeg and frankly I'm intimidated by it. I've had eight weeks to prepare and now I'm half way through that. I shouldn't whimper, as eight weeks sounds reasonable when I see it written down here.

I've never run 30km and so far have topped out at the half marathon distance. Today I ran nearly 20km, and every time I ran in the snow on the shoulder of the road I was reminded of how difficult running in bad footing can be. My self deprecating voices are howling at me already. I need to believe!

I began the training in panic after January 18th and boosted my mileage by a third over two weeks. I stated elsewhere at the time that being as cautious as I've been over the past two and a half years should have left me something in the bank in the way of credit. I still have my fingers crossed and my eyes and ears sharply focused for signs of trouble in the hen house.

My failing immune system is the way I first see negative results from over training. I didn't run after Thursday February 1st until the following Tuesday for just that reason. Swollen glands and a tender throat being my cues. Through that period there was a wicked flu going through our house, but I have so far dodged that bullet. Am I pumped about that? Oh ya!

Last week I was in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island for five days. I got two runs in for a total of about ten miles. I loved wearing shorts again! Although before the second run I went and bought some body glide to save myself some pain. I slept really poorly while I was there and didn't get to bed until sometime after 2:30am on Friday night after flying home. Yesterday I ran the Frostbite 5km very easily and today did what I consider a long run of 12 miles. I ran it at least a minute faster per mile than I had intended to. I wanted to maybe go for longer, but I needed to see what the conditions were like before trying more. As it turned out, the day was a little spiteful in it's wish to freeze flesh. Anytime I was running into the wind I was hustling. I averaged an 11:50/mile pace and my last mile was 10:45/mile. The cold was very taxing today.

Once home, I had a long stretch and relaxed into the remaining part of the day and did little else, but stretch and eat wisely for the rest of the day. With any luck I'll rebound from this run well and take advantage of the continuing arctic high for more abuse from cold temperatures through the week.

Although there were no warnings about wind chill today, the frostbite was a problem. I managed to escape unscathed, but not by much. I was concerned for saftey on more than one occasion. I had people slow right down in their vehicles with looks on their faces like they were preparing to have me tell them some horror story of why it was I happen to be running up the road. Deeply furrowed foreheads on all of them. I guess it really was a bit cold today. < g > The highlight was having old Joe come up from behind me and ask me if I needed anything from town, like it was the most natural thing in the world to be out on such a fine day. I love that man.

I knew I needed a long run this weekend or early in the week so didn't care to put too much into the Frostbite 5km other than my participation (31:55). Today I was glad to have kept a lid on the energy output.

I took 1.5l of Gatorade and nearly froze it solid through the third mile. It froze in the tube of the Camelbak, but fortunately I got it freed up with some frantic vacuum action. Before I left it had been three hours since I ate and I knew I'd be needing the fuel and the liquid in the Gatorade. I ran out completely at the end of mile ten and by the beginning of mile twelve I was hungry. I haven't a clue what I'm going to do to cope with the 30km distance. I don't do well without fuel, but I guess nobody really does.

Do you consume more energy on long winter runs than warm summer runs? How do you cope with it? I figured that water and gels would have been better for me today, but I was thinking that the Gatorade would suffer the cold temperatures better by freezing more slowly. I think I was correct in that assumption, but for the first time while running, I was looking for food. Real food. Maybe I'll play with the Gatorade and food equation next weekend and do another longish run.

I've really noticed this winter that I can't seem to run slowly when I'm cold. I think it's time to spend some money on winter running gear. The options I have now are fine for most days, but in situations like today where the extremes are high between cold and warm miles, I'd like a little more wiggle room. Mile 11 was straight into a biting viscous wind that had me clipping along at a pace I wasn't really that interested in running. :P Keeping myself alive is a big motivator!

Back home, I hit the chocolate milk, set out to stretch for an hour or so then bit into some food. I hope I can suck this all up and run well on Tuesday.

I ran twice last week in shorts. Or did I mention that already? What a nice break it was from the arctic bite we have been having here. The west coast was good to me in many ways, not the least of which was the food. Fanny Bay oysters anyone? Next round for sure!
Back in the prairie saddle again.

Home again

Home sweet home again. Running this week was one of the many treats of the visit to one of our wet coasts. Two years ago when I went to see M&P Mount Arrowsmith wasn't showing much snow and the talk was all about drought. The sun was shining and the temperatures were often 16C or higher. I gardened and looked for excuses to spend extended periods of time outside then.

This visit was more typical of a west coast Vancouver area winter climate. Showers, rain, low hanging cloud, fog, sprinkles and mist were all on the menu. When a brief patch of blue sky popped out Mum would roar around the house ensuring the blinds were maximised for the event. While she was running from room to room she called to all that would listen that there really was sunshine. Of course I'm not deprived, but having lived through those dark days that seem to go on forever there in the winter rains, I could sympathize. It is clear that some UV exposure is long over due for her.

I got two longish runs in while I was out there and both were done on days where shorts were easily within reach for comfortable attire appropriate for such things. Today at home here, it's race day and I'll be wearing a couple of layers more than that for survival.

What kind of Mum sends her first born home with a bouquet of forsythia in bud, long fresh sprigs of rosemary and heather? A treasured one, that's what kind. It's all fragrant and warming toward flowering on the kitchen table now.

I walked in the rain every morning, but the first with the local goddess crones. They still all swing their bats with some enthusiasm and it's a highlight of the visit to share the days beginnings with them all. What inspiration to be in the company of such a wealth of wisdom. Laughter is always very close at hand with that crew.

Rita isn't as mobile for walking, but she can hold her own in the laughter department. My Aunt Rita is the touch stone of reality that made my teen years worth surviving. It was brilliant fun to pick up where we left off. There is no lag time with us. We know where it is we are and get right down to it when we have the luxury of time together. I made the list for some wrist warmers that I expect will see some serious wear through the rest of the winter. They are mitts without fingers. The thumb gusset is there and plenty of extension up the arm. A great asset for those that are active outside when it's cold. I'll try and post some images later. They are a great idea, thanks to her for those.

I also got the chance to share an hour or so with some dear old friends of the family I hadn't seen for many years. I passed up attendance at a jazz concert to stop by on the off chance they might see Mum and me and I was so glad it was workable for them. It sure was for me. Micheal is an old world Italian man of very proud stature. I prompted him for some history about his love of wine making. A tasting was of course in order. A highlight of the trip was to see Kay and Micheal again. I wish I had more time to write on this, but the tide isn't waiting for me either as it surely wasn't for those two. They both have had struggles with their health unfortunately.

Before I was too far off the plane coming in there on Monday, M&P had some halibut into me and the food quality went up continuously the whole time I was there. I suppose it's just because they were hosting, but they seem to eat pretty high on the hog. I never seemed to be able to make much of a dent in the left overs.

I cleared two small flower beds and that was the extent of my usefulness outside while I was there. I helped mess up Dad's life with computers. Linux helped rescue some lame Compaq machines that he had on hand for some other folks in need. I got through most of the dead equipment and marked it for disposal. That will hopefully clear some room for whatever is to follow.

It's always fun to stand around in the shop and talk about horological tools and jobs we've done or are doing. Dad and I got a good dose of that and I was grateful for the tour he offered. He's been around the block a few times and has enjoyed a rich and varied accumulation of skills,stories and tools.

The crew at home were wonderful about picking up the slack while I was gone. The bowls and other pottery I brought home were enthusiastically received. Manon got to pick first and she chose what I expected she would in a tallish, heavy globe bowl with a small base. I like to call those type of bowls medicine bowls. I always feel nurtured using one. Bonnie surprised me by exchanging her first choice of a fine mug of Sandy's for something more robust and practical in a blue cereal or soup bowl. Both of these came from TOSH where Mum paints once a week and often studies.

PU was all over a fine white bowl of Sand Richardson's. We made a trip out to Larry Aguilar's studio to find Sandy's pots. Larry's work is less practical, but I bought one of his too anyway. The colour was too much to resist. I could budget a weekly trip to that studio without any pain involved at all. I'm not much of a shopper, but Sandy's work brings it out in me. Although I'm in love with her bowls, she's well known for her tea pots. I'll try and get some images up of my choices sometime soon.

Images of the water colours that Mum's going to show in March are on their way too. Good luck preparing everything Mum.

The flight home was fine, but I was sad. The rain was as heavy as my spirits on the drive to Comox. Leaving M&P again when they are so far away was tough this time. Dad is not very open about what's happening with his health and that's not good. I expect he's not doing quite as well as he says, but the genetics will likely hold him in good stead if he's made of the same stock as his Mum was. I hope he continues to look after the things that will help keep him strong. Mum is a fighter and bred from strong stock inside and out. I hope I was able to bring some cheer to her through her birthday. It felt like time well spent for me at least. I was exhausted when I got there and slept poorly the whole time I was there, but such is life. I enjoyed the days well enough and my bed was waiting to comfort me when I got back to rest here at home.

It's race day. A 5km puker in the brilliant sun shining on the Festival du Voyageur!

The high pressure dome that's parked over us is providing the most dramatically clean air imaginable. As we were coming toward Winnipeg last night the pilot informed us that from 260km (161 miles) he could see Winnipeg clearly. Glacier glasses are back in action today.