Summer catch up post - 1 of 3

How time flies when summer is swinging! Here's catch-up post #1 (and that's "catch up", not "ketchup" ...I'm a mustard kindo' gal myself... which reminds me of one of my 'quotes of the week' on our family whiteboard: "You can't put a mayonnaise personality into a mustard suit" ...from Unwrapped on the Food Network).

So! Summer since my last post!

That would include our road trip to Michigan by way of Knox College where we visited our son, Paul, who is spending his summer doing one of his very most favorite things: mathematics....specifically, research in cryptography. The boy looks good - and happy. And mom here is going to be even happier when he arrives back in Boulder at the end of the month for a two-week visit before his fall term starts up!

me & frisky mom

After the visit with Paul, we headed up to Petoskey for some quality time with mom, family, friends, and the lake. 'Twas an unusual visit for us in that friends we typically spend lots of time with were way busy (work in the summer...what's that about?!) thus our visiting time was good but short, friends we often don't get to see were actually in town while we were there so we had bonus visits, we were able to catch up with relatives we hadn't seen for a couple of years, and the weather was really quite lovely - lots of sunshine yet not too hot or muggy - but the water, at 50 degrees, was way too cold to swim in. Best of all, my mom's health has significantly improved over the past year so we were able to take her out for quite a few excursions. Northern Michigan is a most excellent get-out-and-about kind of place and we did just that!

Murphey & Vaughan cousins

Yi Lu, me, mom, Aunt Helen,
Dan, Kathleen, Dave

too cold to swim -
but great for hunting Petoskey stones

Summer in full swing

Summer hasn't even been here a full two weeks, but there sure has been a flurry of summer activity!


What with our wet spring, hillsides are loaded with a rainbow of wildflowers making for some positively lovely trail running. Adding to the colorful trail running fun: a never-been-used pair of just-my-size montrails that I found at a yard sale for a mere $20. What a sweet pair of shoes - like running on feathers that glide over rocks and roots.



Adding to this year's summer fun, since we're going to be here in town more than we're going to be gone, we actually resurrected our garden! To top it off, the garden is even producing edibles. Lots of salads so far, with root vegetables on the way. Yummers. However, by my vote, even better than the vegies is this year's cherry crop. Earlier this week, my afternoon progressed as follows: pick a whole bunch of cherries, walk straight into the kitchen, pit the cherries, prepare the crisp, and become thoroughly intoxicated by the smell of hot bubbling fresh-picked cherries. Nothing better!

Alas, not every moment can be spent outdoors - not when one is preparing for their first fiddle recital. Yikes! Many many hours of fiddle practice - and, I'm sure, many many neighbors wishing they had never heard the far-too-often repeated pjv rendition of "Red Haired Boy". If y'all are interested in hearing just how that recital turned out (not perfect, but not a disaster), here's the video our son Devon shot of his fiddling mom, accompanied by our teacher, Mike Marsh. (The first 1:39 is tuning; I recommend you skip that part and head straight for the fiddling.)

Moseying across the country

As you know, if you've read about my run from Colorado to Michigan, I'm a big fan of savoring the miles as one crosses the country. See the sights, enjoy the smells, revel in the fresh air... The thirty-mile-per-day plan was a delightful approach to travel.

Our most recent trip covered the distance a bit more quickly - something like 600 miles per day. Last week we journeyed to Illinois to attend Paul's Phi Beta Kappa induction ceremony and Devon's girlfriend Corinne's graduation (all at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois). The weekend's festivities culminated with the packing of all of Devon's stuff into our motorhome and moving him back to Colorado where he will be pursuing a degree in speech communication.



On the way back to Colorado, we crossed paths with a group of folks who were taking the leisurely approach to cross-country travel. They had crossed Iowa last summer, are making their way across Nebraska this summer and will travel through Wyoming next summer...20 miles per day via wagon train! They allowed us to drive along with for a mile or so and I ran alongside in order to get the pictures. I suspect I was warmer running than they were sitting on their wagons in the rain...but what a way to travel!

Vaughan stubborn

Our backyard columbines.
We're lousy gardeners, but these hearty flowers burst forth regardless!

The Vaughan stubborn streak is legendary in our family.

It manifested in my dad through his unrelenting quest to finish whatever it is he may have started - be it changing a 6 cylinder Studebaker into a 4 cylinder Studebaker or going after a hole-in-one which he finally accomplished in his 80s (after 70 years of devoted golf playing).

In my case, it's heightened determination to do something after being told I can't. My first memory of this happening was in high school chemistry when the teacher announced that girls in the class should figure on getting a C since no girl had ever done better than that. So, despite not having any fondness for chemistry, I sucked it up and got an A. Another big one was when I was granted only a probationary admittance to grad school despite great test scores. My undergrad college wrote evaluations rather than give out grades so, without enough grade point credits, the grad school was reluctant to give me full admission. Harumph. First semester in, I got a 4.0 and ending up graduating at the top of my class. The most recent occurrence was just last week. A few weeks ago, my fiddle teacher had given me Red Haired Boy to try playing. Last week, he mentioned that our upcoming recital would be held at the end of June. I said, well, how about I play Red Haired Boy for the recital. He hemmed and hawed and said that it was a bit too tricky and we'd best find something else; he'd pick something out during the week. Tonight I showed up for the lesson, opened the book to Red Haired Boy and he said - ah, we were going to find something else for the recital. I replied with, how 'bout I play this for you first. Play I did...and raised some eyebrows. Red Haired Boy will be on the program! Like I said, don't tell me I can't do something!

Fortunately, for the run to Michigan, noone let it be known (to me, at least) that they didn't think I'd make it. There was no room for doubt in that endeavour...the challenge was daunting enough - and, besides, my brain was too full of the vision of running toward the view of Little Traverse Bay to make room for nay-sayers. I was quite amazed to discover afterwards how many of my buddies thought I was nuts to try...and unlikely to succeed. 'Tis a testament to their friendship that they never, ever shared those doubts with me until after the run. Nothing but powerful positive thoughts were sent my way. They do make all the difference!

Mood enhancers

See that smile? That's me after finally getting to go for a run after many many days of a non-running regimen in hopes that my quad would stop squawking at me.

After much PT and way too many days of being good, I got the green light for a 20 minute max run. I set off at a brisk walk for my volunteer job along bike paths and trails with my running start point firmly in mind (roughly half-way). A few blocks after leaving my house, the dirt path paralleling the bike path I was on beckoned. I sez to myself: "it's dirt, it'll be gentle on the leg" so onto the dirt and into a trot I went. Ahhh.... About a third of the way into the run I approached a pedestrian overpass. As I crested the top and looked down the other side I saw another dirt path. My brain begins conversing: "There's some more dirt; should we run it?" one side asks. "Well, sure why not?!" the other side responds. At that point, I broke out laughing. It's darned difficult to have a pros and cons debate when both parties - and every molecule inbetween - are big time jonesing for a run.

So, yes, I ran on the dirt, and then ran from the half-way point on in to the job. A most excellent start to the day!


(NOTE: if you, dear reader, happen to know my mom, please do not share this cranky leg info with her...she tends to become overly worried about her baby girl no matter how trivial the issue.)

Moving slowly; seeing the sights

I'm gimping around with a sore quad these days so have slowed down substantially...all the way down to a walk as a matter of fact. Other than being in a foul temper due to sweat glands not getting a workout, it's not been too bad. One can certainly get a good view of one's surroundings when meandering at a leisurely 3 miles per hour. Sightings of the last week have included

• three turkey vultures and a hawk floating along the thermals (probably waiting for me to drop from 3 mph to 0 mph so I'd be easy pickin's);
• a fox closely guarding its den where, I discovered the next day, at least one kit is being raised;
• a clucking crow;
• tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and even some pansies popping up...not to mention blossoms about to burst forth on the fruit trees;

But today's sighting takes the prize. Early this past Thursday it started to rain and snow...and did not stop raining and snowing until late Saturday. Supposedly there were 7 inches of snow and who knows how much rain. The streets were rivers, the dips were lakes, and our hay-like lawns now look like the emerald fields of Ireland. There was SO much water, apparently the fish population found new places to explore...this is what I spotted along the sidewalk when walking home from my volunteer job:


Keep your eyes wide open folks, ya' never know what you may see in this wild wonderful world of ours!

Quintessential spring

Spring is in fine form:

• itty bitty ants are roaming the restroom floor at my volunteer job
• dandelions are bursting forth
• chirpy red red robins are bob bob bobbin' all along the trail
  
• and, of course, our weather forecast is calling for highs of 50s today and a foot of snow tonight

Ya' gotta just run with it!

Summer? Winter? Both?! It must be Spring!

Yesterday - southeast Colorado.................................................................Today - our backyard

Yesterday we were in southeast Colorado, camping in high desert, listening to nothing but wind and birds, gazing out over canyons and prairie, stepping over fossil-filled rocks, gazing at pictographs etched in canyon walls, and hiking and running along cactus-studded trails. A wonderful break from the daily routine.

Today we awoke to a bit of snow, and more snow, and more snow yet. Running through the almost knee-high white stuff was quite fun, actually, since we haven't had much of it in Boulder this year...and there was so much on the ground and filling the air that traffic was almost non-existent. (Both the Boulder public schools and the University are closed for spring break this week so the town was quiet to begin with; closing the highway leading into town and shutting down city offices due to the blizzard conditions further contributed to the sleepiness of our burg.) My run was confined to quiet neighborhoods near my house to further reduce car/ped confrontations so I zigged and zagged, occasionally running along car tracks, occasionally breaking trail. By the time I returned home, I could barely see the tracks I had left when I first started out on my run. And, boy, was it fun to dash in the house and give my husband a great big frosty hug!

Yesterday, cacti. Today, snow drifts. Weather sure does liven things up!

The First Day of Spring

I must confess, I am quite fond of the first day of spring. Rejuvenation abounds. And...it's my birthday!

Each year I thank my mom for giving me such a glorious birthday day. Even the blizzardy years. Or the gray years. Or, like today, the years when spring fills the air.




The first day of spring of 2009 has been mighty fine.
Not only has the day been filled with running, and yummy eating, and driveway basketball with my son, and flowers blooming, and vultures hovering overhead (o.k., that was a bit odd) - but also...bonus!
Kendall's school had a concert today to celebrate the completion of their readathon. Paul and I meandered over to listen in - and, I gotta tell ya', put my husband up on a stage and hand him a microphone and he can really belt out a tune! The guy is a rock star! Now that is one fine way to celebrate a birthday!

A fine way to spend an almost spring day

Blue sky, sunshine, hill drills done, exercise class complete, editing finished, now home with the spring break college boy and a basketball. It just doesn't get much better than this!