Art Fairs and Fairways

Tammy and I are making up for lost time as we get out and about together the way we used to. We took in the American Craft Council show at St Paul's RiverCentre on Friday and probably enjoyed the show as much as we ever have in the past. Sometimes it can be a little hit-or-miss for us but not this year. They brought in, as they always do, some talented artists from all across the country to display and sell their work.

No trip into St Paul is complete without a stop at Cossetta's. It's tasty Italian food dished up cafeteria-style. I had a mostaccioli jump off my flimsy plastic fork and splatter the front of my shirt. It required a stop at home for a quick change before continuing on to Canterbury Park in Shakopee to battle the crowds at their craft fair. After just a few minutes we were both questioning why we came. Unlike RiverCentre, there were very few actual artists at Canterbury, just a lot of cheap imported stuff for sale that we had no interest in. We vowed never again! Still, it was nice to be out doing things together and that was really what the day was all about.

It's been four weeks since I walked off the golf course in pain from a dislocated rib and strained intercostal muscles. Today was my first pain-free day since my injury but I'm reluctant to tee it up just yet. I was reading several stories online from others who have suffered this same injury and came back too soon, reinjuring themselves only to have to start the healing process all over again. I prefer not to experience that.

Our weather has been cool and windy so I'm not missing much by being sidelined. My chiropractor suggested hitting some balls with half a swing when I'm feeling ready to see if there's any pain the next day and to keep increasing the amount of swing until I'm back to 100%. I think I'll leave my driver and 3 metal out of my bag for now.

I'm taking advantage of this downtime to make it over to the practice green at Crystal Lake several times each week to work on my short game. This is practice I'm quite sure I wouldn't have taken the time to do had I been healthy so that's my silver lining to all of this. It's beginning to pay off.

Speaking of playing golf—Dave Celski has joined the ranks of the retired! There was a party for him at Carbone's in Lakeville on Saturday afternoon. He said he intends to play a lot of golf at The Wilds this summer. It was a nice gathering of people who made it to his party.

I spent part of my weekend watching all four rounds of The Masters golf tournament. I used to say that if I could only watch one program each year on TV, I would choose Sunday afternoon's coverage of that tournament. I put my clubs away in 1997 when I was going through my divorce because I'd lost my focus on the course and I really couldn't afford to play; I gave up watching the game on TV as well. But I'm back! I've managed to catch final round tournament coverage of each of the past few weeks and that makes me happy.

But what a loss for Jordan Spieth yesterday, blowing a 5 stroke lead on the back 9. I haven't seen a collapse of that magnitude since Greg Norman's epic collapse 20 years earlier on the same course. I enjoy watching Jordan play and hope this loss won't negatively impact his game although how could it not to some degree?

I've put my Sarma Shaman on a bit of a diet for the summer. It's shed an inch around its tires. I've gone from 4" 45 NRTH Dillingers to 3" Maxxis Chronicles on 52 mm Stan's tubeless rims to make it a little easier to do some longer distances on it. I took my new wheels out for a ride yesterday and I could tell that I'm a little more nimble on the trails with it. My legs were tired after 54 miles but that's to be expected. I'd like an even narrower tire but I'm not sure the extra speed it would give me on the trails is a good thing. I think I've found a happy compromise with this new setup.