Wednesday, July 30, 2014

ghost kitty???

we have cats at 7420. not two, but, three cats- lucky, lucy, and ellwood. I've never thought of myself as a cat person but at this point i guess you could say i am. they each have distinct personalities.  with our kids choosing to live a world away from little a-town, i can't imagine how lonely our lives might be without our feline companions.

                                                                            Mr. Lucky

life with three cats is not without its share of problems.  there's the expense of buying food and litter, vet visits and shots, hairballs and cat fights.  the list goes on.

                                                                              Miss Lucy

                                                                           Ellwood


but the biggest problem for me is vacuuming.  we have one those shark navigators.  no matter if i vacuum once a week, or every day or two, the shark sucks up what looks to be a whole 'nother kitty. 

yes, there are three of them but could there be a ghost kitty lurking about adding his hair and dander to the mix? just how many cats have passed here at 7420, you might ask.  the answer is-- only one.  our daughter's cat, gus, lived with us while k was away at tech.  maybe the hardest thing I've ever had to do was making the call to tell k i'd  found gus in the driveway.  i thought he was just being a cat-- but he was "gone".  maybe the ghost of gus is roaming the house, contributing his share to the litter box, shedding on the hardwood and area rugs.  but probably not. 

the truth is the three cats and we humans just shed-- a lot!

long live the shark.

aio

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

that was for you, Mike...



july 2, 2014

i ran 5 miles at noon today for the first time in at least 5 years and probably longer than that. it was 66 degrees at the start. a light rain was falling. I've been running 4 fairly consistently. my buds ran earlier, or not at all due to the rain, i guess.

my eeky-leaky heart was hittin' on all cylinders early.  i run by myself as a rule, either ahead or behind my buds, from the flc at first Baptist. i'm not sure what got into me but i set out to run the mister mister 5 mile course.  running along julian i got to the fork in the road that would have taken me to the 2.5 mile turnaround.  instead of bearing right i stayed left taking me on another of mike's favorite training runs, the wellington course. it's a bit over 5 miles but what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound. the weather was perfect, what the heck.

on my 4 milers I've been really trying to push the pace, running as hard as i can for as long as i can until my system tells me "okay that's enough".  i walk just long enough for my circ system to recharge then i'm off again. the guys don't see the value in this approach.  their take is to run without stopping but at a slower pace.  who can say which is better?  i find it easier

it's ten years now since mike passed.  we often talk about what he would have to say about the state of our running these days.  yes we're older and heavier but, hey, we're still out there come rain or shine, hot or cold.  most of us are closer to 70 than 60.  come noon time, 4 days a week, we're there at the flc hitting the bricks, carrying on the tradition mike started back in the 70's. 

i think he would be proud.

aio