Say What?

Charlie says Happy Holidays!  I still have some gifts to wrap but other than that, my work is done for this holiday season.  We had a gathering of family over on Saturday and enjoyed our time together. Rachel, Drew, Jenny, and PJ  came over early to cheer on the Vikings in what was looking like a route after the 1st half with the Vikings down 33-0 at the half. The way they were playing, I gave them a 0% chance of coming from behind to win it. But we kept watching, and steadily they kept closing the gap to win it in overtime! Neither Tammy nor I are football fans but we both found ourselves getting caught up in the moment when the Vikings did the near impossible. It was the largest come-from-behind win ever in professional football. Fun stuff! Later, we danced! Before I forget: I'm no longer on Twitter. I canceled my account yesterday. I've seen enough.  I had this text conversation with a friend a few nights ago:  Steve: I’ll trade you a Trump ‘wrestler’ for a ...

We were living in a snow globe today! Snow began falling in the wee hours of the morning and continued throughout the afternoon. We received about 7" (18 cm) by the time it quit. I was enjoying our mostly snowless winter but there are silver linings in this kind of weather for me as well; namely fat-biking. I was able to get out last night for a walk—my usual loop around Crystal Lake—ahead of the snow. It may be a while before I can do this walk again. It was such a peaceful couple of hours spent in upper 30º temps.  Twitter continues circling the drain under Elon Musk's leadership—I use the word "leadership" loosely. I'm a little bummed because I enjoyed the site. It was the source for a plethora of information of all shapes and sizes as well as an abundant supply of cute and heartwarming animal videos. Musk has opened it up again to the vilest voices that had previously been banned from the platform and also to accounts that spread disinformation, while at the...

It's like it's a party that's in its final years, trying to remain powerful but offering nothing in the way of compromise or ideas; only fear, sabotage, disinformation, and voter suppression. They're a shrinking party and they know their days are numbered so they will do whatever they have to do to not lose control. Their final act is to attempt to install a strongman in office, an authoritarian who will corrupt institutions and consolidate power—better that they figure than ever conceding to Democrats.  The number of election deniers on the ballot today should tell you something. Most GOP supporters may still believe in democracy but their party leaders have moved on. Democrats aren't perfect but they at least believe in fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power. The same cannot be said for the GOP. I would love to be wrong but I see no other explanation for what's become of the political party I once embraced.  The most important thing on the ballot to...

Tammy continues to make nice progress more than 3 weeks out from hip replacement surgery. She's replaced her "Herschel walker" with her "John Mc-cane". (Sorry, I can't help myself. 🤷🏽‍♂️) It's nice to have these first few weeks of her recovery behind us.  My quest to find a new road bike moved at record pace since my last update here. I stopped by Flanders Bros Cycles in South Minneapolis to chat with Adrian about a new bike build. We put together a package that was a little dizzying in price but long on quality and checked off all of my wants and then some.  I no sooner returned home from meeting with Adrian when a friend texted me about a (blemish-free) demo bike TIME had on their website—a TIME ADH 01 with Campagnolo Record 11-speed EPS (Electronic Power Shift) components and Boyd carbon fiber wheels and hubs (set up tubeless) for a little more than half the price of the package I had just put together with Adrian. I immediately shot Adrian a text: ...

Tammy went in for her 2nd hip replacement surgery on Wednesday. She had her left hip done a few years ago and now her right hip was in need of attention. It was past time, actually. She's been in so much pain from a bone spur in her hip which her doctor confirmed was clearly the source of her pain. I'm happy for her that the surgery is over and was successful. She's doing really well, too, aside from the expected toll the procedure has taken on her body. She's still on pain meds but is slowly trying to ween herself off them. She's mostly in bed but she gets up a few times a day to walk with her walker around our main level. The doctor wants her to do 6 minutes of walking with each session. I was talking with a friend last night who knows a few people who have had the surgery and all of them say they wish they hadn't waited so long to have it done. I'm sure Tammy will be echoing that sentiment. Rachel and I were back at Hyland Greens last week for 9 holes of ...

Rachel and Drew had to wait 363 days for their wedding reception but by all accounts, it was worth it. (Due to the pandemic, they felt it best to wait a year before hosting a large gathering.) It was an outdoor event and the threat of rain had us checking our phones for updates in the days and hours preceding the big event. Thankfully, lingering rain showers exited the area later in the morning and the winds quieted to a whisper, making for a really nice day/night of celebration. (Thanks to Rachel's father for the group photo.) Drew's brother Colton gave a nice speech as did Rachel's BFFL and partner in crime, Camille. I didn't get Colton's words on video but I was able to get Camille's. She did great! I put together a collection of photos from the event— here's a link .  I know I'm biased but this was by far the most fun I've had at a wedding reception. All of the planning and work that went into putting it on paid off nicely. And what a perfect...

Yesterday was the anniversary of an important day for me. September 3rd, 2015 was easily the most significant day of my life . It was the day my mother died, the day the hearing in my left ear returned, and the day I retired.  The past 7 years have flown by at a disturbingly fast pace, leaving me with an anxious feeling about what that means for my remaining years and how they will fly by at an even faster clip. I know it's why I stay as active as I do, trying to get the most from every day given to me. Now more than ever, I cherish my life and its countless blessings and the life lessons I've learned along the way. August 29th, 2022 will be another memorable day for me going forward but for a much lesser reason than those mentioned above. It was the day I carded my first ace while golfing! I was with Steve last year when he scored a hole-in-one on the 173-yard, 6th hole at Bellwood Oaks in Hastings. I recall how I seemed to be more excited for him than he was for what he'd...

My blog has fallen victim to a very active summer and also to me not knowing how best to write about some things that are concerning to me—and so I put it off. When I say active, I'm mostly referring to time spent on my bike and to a lesser degree, time spent golfing as well as some walks thrown into the mix. I'll be reducing the amount of time spent riding in favor of more time on the links. My goal from now until the season ends is to try and golf at least 3 rounds each week. That may be a little ambitious but it's only Wednesday and I've already met my weekly goal. I don't want to neglect my riding too much because it's too easy to lose my cycling fitness and to someone in their mid-60s, form goes quickly and is more difficult to get back.  Tammy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary at the end of July. Tammy made reservations at Jax Cafe in Northeast Minneapolis where we've had super experiences in the past but just a so-so dinner this time. It...

What a beautiful morning. I'm sitting on our deck and trying to convince myself that it's okay to take a day off from riding or being active in one way or another and to give my body a chance to recover from a very active previous week—that it's okay to be still and allow the world to go on without me. It's my nature to always be moving. Plus, I'm a little sore. I've only allowed myself one day off this month. Recovery days are more important than ever as I enter my mid-60s but it's something I'm still coming to terms with. A hummingbird buzzes past my head; the whir of its wings alerting me to its presence while a yellow and black butterfly flitters among the hanging flower baskets that surround me.  I've been enjoying my time spent riding lately as much as I have in several years. Last week's rides were a good mix of mountain biking, gravel, and road riding. Sometimes I marvel at the ability of something so simple as a bicycle to give me as muc...

For the past couple of weeks, I've been wanting to sit down and write out my thoughts about what's been happening here in the U.S. with respect to our Supreme Court and some recent rulings from the radical conservative wing of it but I'm at a loss as to where to begin. Words seem inadequate to me now but I feel the need to add something here for future reference, if only for myself.  Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in our country has been overturned, leaving it to individual states to decide whether or not to allow for abortions. In a prior life, I would have been celebrating this decision but I'm no longer that person stuck in the binary thinking that allowed me to disregard so many factors that come into play when a woman or a child finds herself pregnant and doesn't want to be. A 10-year-old girl from Ohio was raped and is pregnant. Ohio law now prohibits her from getting an abortion. What's next? Will she be required to marry her rapist...

I sometimes wonder what my father would have made of our politics today. I'd always assumed he was a conservative but the only evidence I have of that was his subscription to the Wall Street Journal and his career in finance , neither of which is strong evidence. He seemed more of a cynic than anything about all things political. Perhaps he became disillusioned after Nixon resigned in disgrace. I have a lasting memory of him calling me out for having Nixon's memoirs in a collection of books I brought home with me after my enlistment in the navy: "Why do you have that?" he inquired of me. The last year of his life involved being tethered to his supplemental oxygen while resting in his easy chair, intently watching the O.J. Simpson trial for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend.  I'm quite sure he would never have joined Trump's cult of followers. He would have seen his lack of morals and lack of honesty for what they were: a con—the biggest con in our count...

It was 30 years ago today that I moved into our home. That's a long time and by far the longest I've lived in one place. I was 34 years old and full of ambition—ambition I was going to need. The summer of 1992 would be a very busy summer for me with numerous landscaping projects that I'd drawn up on graph paper and needed to bring to life. I had 10 dumptruck loads of topsoil brought in and spread throughout our lot because of the poor soil condition that existed. The only other labor I paid for was to have a guy trench two main lines for our lawn irrigation system and I hired a bobcat driver to punch 50 pre-marked holes in the ground where shrubs would go. I think that was the best $50 I've ever spent. And no, I can't imagine purchasing a new home today and having to do all of the work I had to do 30 years ago to get our home up to speed. My level of ambition isn't quite what it once was. Our home has been through a number of changes in the past 3 decades with...

This is my favorite time of year. I love the freshness of spring as perennials push up from hiding underground and trees begin to leaf out and come to life. Birds chatter like no other time of year as their songs break the morning quiet. I try as best I can to live in this moment and take it all in; savoring it. Tammy's favorite color is the green of budding trees. I look forward to hearing her comment at some point each spring about the beauty of the color.  Tammy and I spent a good part of last weekend shopping for flowers for our gardens and getting them in the ground. It's nice to have the work mostly done because it's a rather big job—my aching muscles and rough raw hands are reminders. We still have some flower pots to fill before we're done—preferably filled with something less tasty than begonias for the many deer that see them as a bowlful of greens to feast on.  Steve and I have been getting out golfing once each week now that the courses are all up and runni...

I can't recall a month of windier weather than what we've been experiencing in the Midwest. It got old a while ago and most of us are ready for some warmer, less rainy, and less windy days.  I had a longish gravel ride of 74 miles (119 km) planned for Saturday with hopes of getting out early ahead of the stronger winds that were forecast but I was grounded as I waited for some heavy downpours to pass. By the time the rains moved out, the winds had begun to ramp up. I did my best to keep my head down and work my way south into them but there were occasional gusts close to 40 mph (64 kph) that nearly blew me over more than once. I stopped several times to put a foot down and steady myself when they became too much. After 14 miles of white-knuckling my bars, I'd had enough and turned for home. That's what indoor trainers are for! We met Rachel and Drew at Drew's parent's home yesterday to strategize about the wedding celebration they have planned for September. The...