Football Epilogue

Yesterday was warm. Warm enough to conclude that summer is here along with all the activities that help keep us moving. Moving even if we'd rather be sitting in a cozy adirondack chair with a cold sparkling beverage. Beverages sometimes need to wait though in the wake of tall grass and dandelions.  Dandelions in thick enough clumps to make you wonder about the potency of the winterizer/weed and feed fertilizer. Fertilizer that did indeed seem to make the grass grow long. Long enough that it was time for mowing. Mowing in my yard is a good 30 to 40 minute workout on account of the hills. Hills that sometimes cause me to slip and definitely cause a good sweat. Sweat that, mixed with the dust and pollen, gives the eyes a mild irritation. Irritation that has the decent feeling of doing something physical, even if it is just giving my lawn its first proverbial "lowering of the ears". Ears were important for me to turn down the sensitivity on for the second portion of my ...

One of the best lifts a person can do.

Geeze, it's been almost two months since my last post. I've finally found a window of time that coincides with the energy and desire to write in this little corner of the internet. I apologize to my avid reader(s) if you missed me. Trust me, I missed your anonymous upticks on my stats page as well.  Much has happened during the vacuous void of my absence from the blogging universe. In short, I've been busy. Here's a rundown of what all went down: 1. Lent Oddly, my absence correlates with the start of the lenten season. This is mostly coincidence as my original lenten sacrifice was going to be fountain soda when I eat at restaurants (gas station hot dogs count as restaurant food too, right?).  I'm not overly religious, but I do like the idea of periods of self-temperance and abstinance (get your mind(s) out of the gutter, I'm meaning in a general sense). This first world "sacrifice" actually went quite well and actually I lost a big chunk...

The view from atop Hyland ski area in Bloomington, MN Compared to the last few years, this Minnesota winter has been hard. The persistently cold temperatures with only one small warm streak in January, mixed with weekly snowfalls has left the state frozen and white. Probably too cold for many of the out-of-town folks who were here for Superbowl LII on Sunday. Indeed I've been struck with a small case of cabin fever as well. However, it should be a time to embrace the winterness and partake in outdoor activities. Early in January I took a trip to Utah. That officially kicked-off my ski season. Utah was awesome. The ski areas are vast and varied. We (gf and I) skied Deer Valley on the Park City side of the mountains and Brighton on the Salt Lake City side of the mountain. I came home ready for more. Fortunately, my kids are now of the age where they are capable skiers. As an added bonus the Minnesota Ski Areas Association  has a program this year where fourth graders ski ...

A little post-Christmas catharsis. \m/

I woke up this morning to a temperature of -12° F (-24° C). It is a good day to stay indoors and sip a warm beverage. This day is following the winter weather pattern here in Minnesota: first it snows and then it gets cold. The saving grace with such cold weather is that it occurs to a crystal clear sky and bright sunshine reflecting off of the new snow. A newcomer might be caught off guard from the false visualization of outdoor warmth and may even try to take a deep breath; abruptly choking on the arctic flash freezing of the windpipe. Scarves and shallow, deliberate breaths to acclimation are thus quickly learned. If the wind isn't blowing, one can be quite comfortable in a normal winter attire where body heat and insulation make for a fine cushion. A little labor can even result in the dropping of a layer. However, the slightest breeze will steal that cushion with the comedic sensibility of a practical joke; leaving you to shiver and hasten your pace to get back indoors....

mmmm, not meat That's my usual take on meat. It's been a dietary staple since I can remember. This last week though I have decided to take on the bold experiment of NOT eating meat. I'm not really sure why I'm doing this. I have no agenda such as in "What the Health " or the older " Supersize me " and I don't believe that meat is "murder". I'm sure there is a lot of lobbying, but I don't think there's some big conspiracy by "big meat" (tee-hee). Although, I do think I need to pay more attention to what I'm putting in my body. More than anything I just wanted to try something different and see what effects there might be. A little science in the name of knowing myself a little better. So far I've noticed a couple of small changes; however it is hard to rule on things one way or another after a week. The first thing is I've been rather tired. Again, I'm not sure if that's just me or the l...