This new cat of ours is pretty funny. Every morning I try to get in the hot tub for a few minutes and he likes to join me. He doesn't get in but he walks around the edge and goes back to back. He has only fallen in once, but he keeps coming back.
Eric sent Candy a picture of him all dressed up. I had her send it to me so that I could log it in the blog. He is a very handsome young man. Lot of changes going on for him and 2017 should be a very exciting year. I did get out this morning and logged a few more miles. Today it was just about 6.5 miles. I took Pebbles out and we did 4.75 miles and then I dropped her off at home and then headed out to get a couple more in. I hope I can get out early tomorrow and log a few more miles.
I went to work on the basement bedroom today. Had an old dresser that I needed to move out and a few other items. I also had a couple of small holes in the wall. When Clark moved out he took the wall bracket that holds a TV. Got everything patched up and then found the paint. Looks a lot better, now I just need to get my tools out and then clean the floor.
I would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Hope that you enjoyed your time today no matter how you spent it. We broke from tradition this year and didn't cook, but instead chose to go out for dinner. We ate at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. They put on a big buffet with everything you could want. It was Candy, Clark, Clark's girl friend and I. We all ate way to much, it was all so good. It actually worked out pretty well, as we didn't have to spend all day cooking and cleaning. Eric is in California for the Holiday. Sounds like they are having a great time. They are staying at Disney and checking out the parks. A big news item is that he got engaged and asked his girl friend to marry him. Candy and I both knew about it. Congratulations! Candy has been hard at work with her embroidery. She has embroidered all kinds of stuff. From shoes, shirts, towels and more. She just finished up a snow boarding snow man for Clark. It looks really good. I need to see if she can put my initials on the cuffs of my shirts. So let's see, on the hiking front I am still plugging away. I was out yesterday with Pebbles. As we were walking down the trail, I happen to look over and see this deer in the grass. I stopped and fired off a couple of pictures. Pebbles was oblivious to it even being there.
I am just about up to 80 Miles this month. I got out both Wed/Thu and clocked a little over 5 Miles each day. This morning it was windy so I opted to do the treadmill. The treadmill is not my favorite as I would rather be outside.
I had an unexpected but pleasant surprise today. At work and the cell phone rings. It's my uncle who is visiting his brother, my other uncle who lives in the Springs. Wanted to see if I had eaten lunch yet and if I could go out. Luckily the afternoon was pretty clear, so I jumped at the chance. They came to the office and then we headed out for lunch. It was great to catch up with them. My plan was to leave work early and go walk, but with being out for a couple of hours I just couldn't make it work. Will try again tomorrow. I am supposed to be off work, but I don't see that happening.
One thing I had forgotten to mention was that I hung the outdoor Christmas lights yesterday. It was so nice yesterday and just took me about an hour. Didn't go with a big display just lights and garland wrapped around the hand rails coming up to the house. One more item checked off the list. I have a lot of traveling coming up in the near future. Need to get some things done while I am home. Not only with my to do list, Eric is graduating from college and we have a ceremony on the 16th followed by a little party. He is then moving to Orlando to start an internship with a new company. Very proud of him! I got out this morning and got 3.5/Miles walking to work. I had plans to leave work at 4:00 PM, but it was 6:00 PM when Candy picked me up. Well at least I got a few miles in. This puts me up to 69.15 Miles. Getting closer to 100.
Oh boy what a great weekend here in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Yesterday it was in the 50's and today it got up to 68. I spent most of the days outside soaking up the sun. Hope it was as nice where you are. Congratulations to all the players on the La Junta Football Team, The High School, and all the nice people in La Junta. Way to go beating Bayfeild 14-13 in the Class 2A state semifinals. Sorry I missed it and thank you for making all the Alumni so Proud! Wishing you all the best for the State Championship against Kent Denver.
Making us Proud
So let's see, somewhat busy weekend around here. I had plans to get up at 5:30 AM on Saturday, but that turned into getting out of bed at 8:30. Yeah I slept it. So what!
I gathered up all the ingredients for my pot roast. I dug the roast out of the fridge and salted, peppered and put garlic on it. Heated up the cast iron skillet and then seared the roast on both sides and on the edges where I could.
Placed it in the crock pot on low and then turned my attention to the vegetables. Pealed several carrots and potato's. Sliced up and onion and place them all on top of the meat. Left the crock pot on low and left it cooking for the rest of the day.
Candy had a craft show she was working at the Church and had to be there at noon to start setting up. That left me with some time to fill. I got dressed and headed out for a hike, left about 11:00 AM. I got back just after 1:30 PM and oh man the house was smelling great with the roast and vegetables cooking.
On Saturday I got just a little over 6 miles in. I walked up Orion and then worked my way back home. It is a pretty decent incline from our house, up Orion to Gold Camp Road. Felt pretty good and I need to do more.
After I got home I hooked up the PS2 to the bedroom TV. Clark brought it over and left me some games. Now I have a couple of old Spyro the Dragon games and Ratchet and Clank that I can play.
Candy got home just about 6:00 PM and oh man I was ready to eat. Hadn't eaten all day and had to smell the roast cooking. I was ready. We made some toast with butter and then had a great dinner. Oh man the roast and all the vegetables were awesome.
I was feeling the incline from yesterday when I got up this morning. Moving a little slow, I still got out and did 2.5 Miles. I should have done more.
With Saturday and Sunday, that gets me just over 65/Miles. I need to work hard as I would love to break a 100 this month.
So let's see, today I logged a big Goose Egg. I took the day off and ended up driving. My excuse is that it was 22 this morning...... Just an excuse. Both our fountains had heavy ice on them, luckily they didn't freeze up. I will be draining them tomorrow so that we won't have to worry about freezing. O'l Brooks the cat is really fitting in to the family. I think we have turned him into one of the dogs. He goes out when the dogs do, eat 's when they do and he is playing with Pebbles and she is playing back. They chase each other and have been sharing toys. The squirrels have been on DEFCON 4 as of late. Brooks likes to get out early in the morning when the squirrels are active. He tries to catch them, but they are just to fast. Brooks has taken to climbing the trees and the fence. I came out the other day and found him sitting up in the tree. He also likes to walk all along the fence and monitor his territory. Speaking of squirrels, I found out who had been eating on the pumpkins. I noticed that over a few days that the rind was being eaten off. Well this morning I actually caught the culprit in the act. I had no idea the squirrels liked pumpkin rind, but I guess they do. As you can see this squirrel has been pretty active working on this pumpkin. In this pic, you can also see the dusting of snow that we got yesterday. "Good-bye Max. Good-bye Ma. After the service when you're walking slowly to the car And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air You hear the tolling bell. And touch the silk in your lapel And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band You take her frail hand. And hold on to the dream. A place to stay. Enough to eat Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street Where you can speak out loud. About your doubts and fears And what's more no-one ever disappears You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door. You can relax on both sides of the tracks And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control And everyone has recourse to the law And no-one kills the children anymore." "The Gunners Dream"
Well the weatherman pulled it off. He/She was correct, it did get cold and we got a dusting of snow. I was told that we got hit pretty heavy up north. Should make for a fun walk in the morning. Supposed to be cold so will need to dress appropriately. Once again I walked to work but then bailed on the walk home and caught a ride. When I left this morning it was nice, but 10 minuets into my walk the sun went behind the clouds and it starting cooling off quickly. Even so, I did get three miles in. That puts me just over 55/Miles. This evening we jammed out to Blessed Union of Souls. One of my favorites. I included the video I Believe above. Every time I hear them I want to learn to play piano. The lyrics are awesome and heartfelt. As I was walking this morning I looked back and thought this was a great view and snapped off a picture.
So if you are looking for something fun, I have included the video Downtown from Macklemore. I think one of the reason I dig this so much is that it has Eric Nally from Foxy Shazam in it. If you have read my blog over the years, you know I am a huge Foxy Shazam fan. If you are not familiar with Foxy Shazam, let me welcome you To The Church of Rock N Roll and follow that up with a Holy Touch. These songs will definitely have you picking up the pace on the trail. If you come across me, I might be dancing as I go.
How many times have we heard the cliche, “The grass is always greener on the other side?” But as I looked again at the picture I took yesterday, the grass is actually greener on the other side. So let's see I did walk to work again today, but wussed out and caught a ride home again this evening. When I left this morning Pebbles was giving me the look. I was going solo and didn't want to take her to work. She was bummed. So with the walk this morning that gets me up to 52.5 Miles. Will try to do the round trip tomorrow. When I got home this evening it was time to cook dinner. I needed to get into the mood so put some tunes on. This evening it was Quarterflash and Aldo Nova. We rocked out to both of these bands in the 80's. Yep we are old. I mean who do you know that shows up in a helicopter and jumps out wearing a leopard jumpsuit and then blow the doors open with his guitar. I mean that is just awesome. I wish I could get away with it. For dinner I cooked a steak, baked potato and a bag of salad. Candy and I split the steak and each had a potato and salad. I cooked the steak in an iron skillet with some butter. We use our iron skillet all the time, everything just seems to taste great. I cooked the potatoes in the microwave and pretty much dumped the bag of salad in a bowl.
On the way to work this morning I stopped and took a picture of the creek I walk along everyday. As I was crossing the bridge and thought this was a great photo opp. Once again we had a beautiful day. It was in the 70's and we should have all been outside playing. Hard to believe that tomorrow we are supposed to have snow and the temperature is going to drop down to 26. That's Colorado! I am ready for some snow. It is very dry as we haven't had any moisture in several weeks and the fire danger is high.
I came across the Tortilla Moon picture today when running through FB. Have to say that brought a smile to my face. Very creative idea and made me laugh. Now that I am writing about it I might need to go heat one up. Never made homemade tortillas. Went and looked up the recipe. Might have to give it a try if I have time, but they are so easy just to get at the store.
I fell down on the job today. Manged to get up and walk to work. Got 3.5 Miles in but tonight I bailed and caught a ride. I was tired. Got to sleep just after 1:00 AM and then then up at 5:15 AM and was on the trail an hour later. I was pretty busy at work today and when I looked up at the clock at work it was already 5:45 PM and with being tired I was like, find a ride. Actually Eric was just leaving so I snagged a ride with him. He was headed to the house anyway to get some grub, so it worked out well. Adding in the 3.5 Miles from today that gets me up to 49 Miles over the last 10 days. This morning on the way to work I came across three deer down in the creek. Everyone needs water! They smiled, looked at the camera and let me take they're picture.
Started this morning with a fruit and spinach shake. Pretty tasty and a great way to start the morning. Shortly after we headed out to get our walk in. Pebbles was ready to go the minute she saw me grab my boots. Most of the way this morning Pebbles was off the leash. We didn't come across anyone which was nice. When we got to the road, Candy and Pebbles made the turn to head back home and I continued on my way work. The walk back home this evening was fun. With setting the clock back it is dark at 5:00 PM. I left the office just after 5:00 PM. When I got into the park I was walking along the creek. I had my head lamp on so I could see the trail and as I walking along I could see some glowing eyes down by the water and in the shrubs.
I couldn't really make out what it was. I think it was a stray cat or at least that's what it looks like from the picture. It was pretty freaky as I was walking and to see glowing eyes from a distance. Wasn't sure what I was about to stumble across. At least tonight we had a full moon that offered some light. I was able to log 6.5/Miles today so this get's me up to 45.5/Miles since I started tracking my distance on Nov. 6th.
With Thanksgiving coming up we will have a couple of days off for the Holiday so this will be a good time to finish up a home project. When we re-painted the interior I pulled all the doors off the rooms. Well it is time to replace them and get new doors hung back up. Guess this weekend we will make a run to HD to see what is available and then I can start staining them and or paint them, depending on what the boss wants.
Today it was just me out on the trail. Candy and Pebbles were ready to take a break for the day. I logged 5.3/Miles on my hike this morning. I left early and it was a great day/morning to be out. Didn't see to many other people and pretty much had the trail to myself. Up to 39/Miles, ready to step it up this next week.
This is my route that I took today. Hope the weather continues to hold.
We had to go to the post office today as Candy had a small package she needed to mail. So for our hike today we decided we walk to the post office and back. We ended up with a little over 4.5/Miles. Most of it was trail, but we covered a lot of sidewalk today as well. We had a great time and Pebbles was excited to be out. With today's distance I logged 33.7/Miles for the week. Hopefully I can step it up next week. I may have said this already, but I can't believe the weather we are having. Today it was in the 60's and looks like it will be all next week as well.
Seems like every other week I am updating my apple devices. It takes like forever to get them updated. My iPhone has been going for about 30 minutes and still not done. I am sure I will have to do my iPad next. I did this just a couple of weeks ago.
I am sure that when I reboot my laptop I will have several windows updates to do.
For this old man I have had a pretty decent week. I am talking about getting my ass out and walking daily. I started on Sunday, daylight savings day. Got up early and got a couple of miles in. Then I walked to work and back everyday this week, except for Thursday when I did the treadmill. Got up and 5:00 AM and have gotten up just as early every day this week. I have manged to get 29.2 Miles in this week. I have to say it feels pretty good to be back in the groove.
All the miles I am tracking are from my Garmin that I use. It goes on my wrist like a watch. I am able to track my routes, distance, elevation and more. I only use it when I head out for my hikes, so I don't track every step when using the ftibit. I can load my routes into google earth and see where I have been.
Well I have managed to get 15/Miles in over the last three days. Walked to work both Monday/Tuesday and got out on Sunday as well. Just have to keep after it. It has been nice as Candy is on-board and has gone with me everyday. Our dog Pebbles is super happy about this. Just say the word walk and she is bouncing off the walls.
I had to go look at the calendar to see what I have been up to since my last post. Well one week, I was in Las Vegas and the following week I was in NY/NJ. Traveling for business and trying to make the most of it. I went and looked at my pictures taken since my last post and this is what I found. Glad to be home for a couple of weeks.
I think between the last three weekends we have probably bagged over thirty large contractor sized trash bags of leafs. I will say it looks pretty good around here. Or at least for today, by next weekend many more will have blown in. We did get a new bed. It was delivered last week while I was gone. I am pretty happy and have slept great the last two days. Hope it holds up. The weather here has been great. We really need some moisture, but the temperatures have been in the 30's at night and 60/70's during the day. We got out today and did a little of 3.5 Miles. It was a great morning to be out. we left the house at 7 AM and it was 42 outside. We warmed up quickly once we started walking. Already have my hiking clothes out for tomorrow and my backpack has my work clothes in it. I have to get back out. I cooked up and awesome dinner this evening. I made baked chicken thighs, acorn squash, steamed cauliflower with cheese. It all tasted awesome. I included a pear and apple sliced up for something sweet.
This new cat of ours is pretty funny. Every morning I try to get in the hot tub for a few minutes and he likes to join me. 
