March Madness - Portland bound

This past week was really fun. Mike got on his favorite site, Craig's List, and picked up some tickets for March Madness. The first two sessions were in Portland and UW Huskies and Gonzaga were playing the same day. It was too good to pass up, so Thursday morning we headed south. I enjoyed the day more than I anticipated. Seeing these kids play live in the Rose Garden was an experience! The players were amazing, the cheering crowds electrifying. It was a blast, especially since both teams won. We are now really 'into it' and are looking forward to seeing Gonzaga play this Friday. They won their 2nd round in a buzzer finish. The Huskies lost by only 2 points so they won't be advancing. To be honest, I'd rather go to a athletic event such as this than go to a theatre downtown to see a show or go to a noisy concert. Am I weird or what? It's just another thing Mike and I have in common. We are lucky that way.

Friday night we went to John and MaryAnne's house for dinner. They are our shining examples of urban, artsy. It's surprising we are friends because we don't have that much in common. They keep us connected with the Seattle happenings downtown. We share what is possible at 60, so it works somehow. It facinates me that they were vegan for over 7 years, so when we go over there for dinner, I look forward to some sort of fabulous vegitarian dish. I went so far as get copies of her favorite cook books and enjoy trying out new recipies now and then. We got close when they so graciously invited us to their condo in Kona to watch the Ironman a couple of years ago. They recently had their Seattle condo totally remodeled. It is gorgeous. It overlooks Lake Union, and there is a beautiful view from every room in the place. I thought, well I guess we should have our house updated some day....but the thought passed quickly.

Saturday I got to ride with John Hahn and his son Mike on a 46 mile organized ride out of Arlington. I was apprehensive because I thought I'd be way too slow for these guys, but they were so nice to stop to let me catch up, mostly after the hills. Then John made my day when he commented that I am a strong rider! Who me? It was a beautiful ride on back roads passing farms and open pastures. It was 32 degrees when we started out and I was certain I was getting irreversible frost bite in my hands. Fortunately, the sun came out and it warmed up nicely a couple of hours into the ride. Mike decided it best not to go since he still hadn't got his stitches out, and the doctor told him to take it easy after all. For once, he's listened!

Then Sunday we had our friends Al and Meg over for dinner. Mike out did himself and cooked delicious game hens with outstanding stuffing. We all went back for seconds. We've now dubbed it Mike's Secret Stuffing Recipie. It was that good! I got to show off my new bike. Meg is training for an Ironman in August and Al is an avid cyclist.

Best part of the whole week is I got to talk to Pj! Eric has been extremely busy in his new job at Costco. Apparently they had their grand opening. I called, texted, called again in the last week wondering what was going on in LA. I must have sounded desperate because Eric called tonight to let me know the latest. Then he had Pj call. I just love to hear Pj's voice, knowing he's A OK and making the best of things for now. They will be moving into their place this weekend. I plan to go visit just after they move in...settled or not! I am bringing my mit so we can play catch like old times. Do you have 'old times' with an 8 year old? I guess so...we have a history already.

A Day in the Life in the Pacific NW

It's almost spring in Seattle, and look at our shoes after a walk in the Redmond Watershed! They tell the whole story. It was SNOWING, cold and the wind was blowing, our feet were wet and muddy. What were we doing out there anyway? Well, Mike was getting a be of cabin fever, so he rounded up his main lady friends for a get together. Unlike most regular folks, we had to do some sort of exercise before going for breakfast. There was a time the form of exercise would have been an 8-10 mile run, but today we are grateful for a 4 mile walk in the muk!


Ladies left to right: Dorie, Marcia, Carol. Mike got all kinds of sympathy, and he loved it!

The Bionic Man

I picked up Mike from the hospital this morning. His mini pacemaker surgery has been completed with success. It's all very interesting. Apparently he now has to take it easy a couple of weeks so that the 'leads' which transmit the electrical impulses from the pacemaker (a small device about the size of a half dollar surgically imbedded under the skin below his colar bone) will 'set', meaning the heart tissue actually grows around the ends of the leads which holds them in place. Amazing! He is in good spirits and looking forward to the future of running, hiking, skiing, biking, ie being Mike once again!

I feel like a pin cushion these days. Yesterday I had my own very mini surgery to remove basal cell cancer from my leg. I was surprised that it took a good 6-7 stitches to close up the area. It's rather sore today, but I still couldn't resist riding a short hour on my bike. I'll have another one removed from my leg in a couple of weeks. Today after picking up Mike, I went into Coll's office to have dental work done on my gums. The work isn't so bad, but getting novacaine is no fun. I have one more appointment to go tomorrow to finish off the procedure. Oh well, I think of it as maintenance..nothing too serious, just annoying.

A footnote from my last blog: Magda has decided going to Thailand again is a bit extreme, so she's decided to go to Florida to visit Laila, my sister ( a nice place to stay). Tahani will be going as well. Being the mom, I never quite know all the details, but they are meeting up with one another. Tahani will be attending a music conference in Miami, while Magda has plans to go diving in the Keys and perhaps Honduras.

As you can see I am playing around with the blog colors, set up, etc. Please bear with me. I obviously have not mastered all the functions as yet!

Daylight Saving's Time Already? March 8 2009

Here I am at last updating the latest chapter of our lives, humble as it may be. Grand Pa Mike is just fine. As you can see above, he is doing two of his favorite activities at once: talking on the phone with his buddy Brian while watching the Huskies basketball game. It was a big game. The Huskies won the Pack 10 conference for the first time since 1953. The crowd went wild!

Today is Sunday and it our day to meet with our friends Dave and Nobuko for a run around the golf course. It was freezing when we started, but the sun came out eventually and the day turned out to be beautiful. Yep, Grand Pa is doing what he usually does!

I DID IT! I finally got myself into Speedy Reedy, the local triathlon shop, determined to figure out this bike thing. Fortunately, they had several bikes for me to try out and I instantly fell in love with the Cervelo PC2, a very fine bike indeed. For me it's as exciting as getting a new car is for many. I topped off the purchase by buying new shoes and pedals. The shoes lock into the pedals firmly, not easily taken out. I often wonder why they call them 'clipless pedals'. I am a bit apprehensive using them, but as you know by now I like being just a little bit scared most of the time!

Mike went to Chelan last week on his own. I had a need to be alone in the house for awhile. After 3 days, I missed Mike and secretly hoped he would come home early after his Wednesday ski day at Steven's. But, no, he stuck it out until the end of the week. LOL Our reunion was sweet. As a matter of fact we've been hanging around each other the last couple of days like two kids. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Magda is doing well. She recently found out she got a job in Roach Harbor in the San Juans starting June 1st. Remember I said I didn't think she would last in Seattle long? Well, she decided to go back to Thailand until June, handing in her resignation at Salish today. Why not? She loves Thailand, has many freinds there, loves to go diving and the cost of living is economical to say the least.

How's Pj you ask? It's been two weeks to the day that he moved to LA with Eric and Lauren. Here we are at the Globetrotters show just before he left. I miss him terribly already! It's been a challenge for them so far. Eric and Lauren were elated that they found an apartment the first couple of days only to find out that the landlord flaked out and didn't rent it to them last minute. So they are still looking. Eric said the public schools in LA are horrid and he refuses to put Pj in an unsafe environment (scary). So he's been looking at private schools with no luck yet. There are long waiting lists and so far all are filled to capacity for the coming school year.