More Twinkies!

Unless we start dressing alike in our old age, probably some of the very last of the twinkies photos of Tracy and me can be seen Christmas morning in 1978 and Christmas morning 1981.

Matching PJs while Pepper tried to sneak my chocolate coins.

Penn State Delayed 2 Hours

Yesterday it rained and the fellows chilled out on the bed.

The snow came overnight.

We had no snow the day before.

The prediction was 2 - 4 ".

For Mom to show her how the squirrels eat the suet.

Nom nom nom.

Labels

Don't forget to check the labels down the right hand column. It is an easy way to follow your favorite person or theme. The first years of this blog had a lot to do with letterboxing but as I add archived slides and photos brand new labels are appearing. Fans of Tracy, me crossing my eyes and both of us dressed as twinkies will have a lot to look forward to as I keep scanning new images.

Crossing my eyes was my favorite way to look crazy and hide how awkward I felt at times.

Mom dressed us alike but I still have to wonder at why people asked if we were twins.

Starting to Scan some Slides

After a wonderful lunch at my parents house I gathered up a bunch of old slides to start scanning into digital format. Here is a teaser of some found in the 1960-1962 grouping.

Dad, skis and his first(?) Chevy. Circa 1961.

Mom and what looks like my cousin Kathryn circa 1961.

Me sometime before turning one. Late 1962.

Thoughts from the Road - #3311

I have been logging the miles lately and thinking profound thoughts and all but they seem to disappear before I get to blog them.

I have a month until my race in Harrisburg and I suppose I will do fine. There are a lot less unknowns about what I can accomplish this year. The added security and sense of running self comes with a little less excitement. I am not foolish enough to think I would enjoy running 10 miles without doing the work to prepare. I am just a little less focused on the formula on how to get there. Less stress, less anticipation but an awareness.

Running in cold rain is my least favorite kind of run. It sent me indoors last Friday to the Ashenfelter track. I was able to run a nicely paced 10k while it was pouring icy cold rain out. My walk and wait for the bus confirmed how much I dislike that kind of weather.

The snow has dissipated in many places and opened up some routes I haven't been able to run for a while. Because of that I was able to calibrate my new iPod Touch. It took me three tries. The first was to a spot I know is where I usually turn over my first mile. I was able to have my smaller iPod and sensor verify when I hit a mile since the new iPod has an internal sensor. Both were recording my run off the same chip on my shoe. I stopped when my old calibrated sensor turned to a mile and ended both workouts. The new iPod said I had run 1.45 miles. I chose to recalibrate it and selected the corrected distance of 1 mile. I poked a button and it seemed to save the workout but did not recalibrate.

I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, at the top of a hill, so my run was not done. Another woman ran past me as I was poking all of my buttons. I stood idle for so long I was getting cold and she was totally out of sight. I decided I needed to get moving and chose to just run an open ended distance. I would just note the distance that was on the correctly calibrated iPod and apply it to the new one afterward.

My second try at calibration included one of my favorite routes to Spring Valley Rd and back to Commercial Blvd. The day was very pretty, all of the horses were out and I saw some raptors in the morning sun. By the time I got to the culdesac of Commercial Blvd I had been out over an hour. The second distance to calibrate was 5.31 miles. The new iPod told me I had run over 7 miles so I chose the recalibrate touch spot on the screen, swiped to scroll to the correct distance (5.31) and poked the button. Damn! I did the same thing. I realized I should have touch a spot on the screen that said, "Done" before exiting the whole calibration page.

I was so frustrated that I didn't even set up my smaller calibrated iPod (I call it Uplifting Voice) to take a loop on Commercial Blvd. My third go at calibrating the new iPod was done on what I new was a .8 mile loop I had run time and time again last winter. I was tired but so angry to get it over with that it was my fastest paces of the day. I ended up running a total of 7 miles after all. You better believe I was careful in setting the calibration that last time. I saw that "Done" and made sure to touch the screen to finally calibrate the new iPod Touch (I call it tru).

Yesterday was another really pretty morning and I decided to take tru out for a run to check my calibration. I don't know why I always have doubts that I have made a mistake in measuring the Commercial Blvd. lap. I was so panicked that I had fooled myself into just thinking I was running a 5k or 8k last year that I was thrilled and relieved @ my first race when I made it to the end in the rough time I had estimated. I still have moments where it's hard to believe that I actually run certain distances but yesterday was more about making sure I had calibrated tru properly.

I planned on stopping at my typical mile point to check the calibration and reset it if it was off. To get to the point of unlocking it to do that, I press a button to wake up the screen but that also gives me an audible announcement of how far I have run. At my mile point, tru told me I had run 1.02 miles. I am fine with that and kept running for a similar run to the day before, sans extra Commercial lap. The overall distnace seemed just fine and I kept a pretty good pace the whole way.

Here comes another pretty morning, third in a row. It's hard to pass it up with the threat of cold rain this weekend. I am logging the regular 6 or so miles a few times a week, I am just going to have to take a day off and get a longer run in sometime. It'll happen.

Pile o' Purple and all Things Good

My fingernails are currently a fun glittered blue/purple thanks to my parents dropping off some gifts for me. They came over and took us to lunch on Tuesday.

They also brought a huge piece of home made carrot cake which I didn't get to photograph. It was so amazingly moist with nuts and raisins and a thick coating of a fluffy cream cheese frosting decorated with tiny carrot designs. The decorations were so small that the greens of the carrots were actually coconut. Delicious!

We also went shopping and got me what seems like the prefect lightweight running jacket. Wicking material that is a high visibility color, deep zipper pockets, long sleeves that act as half mittens when not rolled up and a hood that had a set up that the interior draw string won't flop around and bug me. I took it for a test run yesterday and was very pleased with it. It is a flattering length that covers my butt. Thanks Mom & Dad!

Mardi Gras Pub Club Meal

Dressed & ready to go.

Mike & Gretchen, our table buddies.

Most of our table

Turning 49

Pretty much at the last moment it was decided we would travel to NYC for my birthday. I missed Amy & Arron so much and they were pleased to share their time off with us.

Friday night before we traveled, I thought I would meet with some friends at Otto's but none of them showed up until just as I was leaving. One fellow was ill, another was swamped with prior commitments and the final entourage dwindled down to one. She gave me this extremely humorous gift just as I finished my desert.

We packed our bags that night and planned a leisurely drive into NYC the next morning. This , of course, put us right in the middle of when everyone else travels. We got stuck in some traffic but my spirits were good as I listened to a Dr. Hook cd Jim gave to me that morning.

Backing up to earlier that morning, I had opened a huge pile of gifts that Jim had stacked on my pillow. He made a donation in my name to This American Life, designed me 2 different t-shirts, gave me a bunch of temporary tattoo material to test and see if I want to get a tattoo when I turn 50 and the above mentioned cd.

The Essential Dr. Hook was a real blast from the past and I was enjoying it until Jim made me realize that many of the oldest and most memorable lyrics were written by Shel Silverstein. I really did not like his books, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. Even the good story of The Giving Tree depresses me when I think of how someone could use and use something to it's demise. I gleefully ranted in mock outrage that the knowledge of his hand on those songs had spoiled them forever.

Trying to keep my spirits up as we are stuck in traffic in New Jersey. It helps that our new car doesn't overheat.

After a little letterboxing, I paused in Central Park near the reservoir.

The time spent in the city that day was very nice. Amy met us and we traveled down town for some lunch and met Arron on his lunch break. Saturday is his last working day of the week.

We parted ways for a short time but surprisingly bumped into with Amy in a corner grocery store. We waited for Arron and all went out to a nice meal at Candle Cafe. Nothing beats a menu of veggie food when I don't have to worry about which items might have meat in them. The company made it a perfect birthday meal.

We returned to their apartment for more celebration and visiting. It really was all I could ever ask for.

Just before I blew the candles out on 2 delicious Crumbs cupcakes.

The sweet gift my family gave to me, an iPod Touch!

A photo I took of all of us on Sunday morning!

The next morning we were treated to fresh coffee, shopping for a protective iPod case and a great breakfast. We were on the road soon after noon and had a hard time saying goodbye.

Out for breakfast at Midnight Express Diner.

It was hard to say goodbye to Arron & Amy. They opened their hearts and home so that I could have the most enjoyable birthday celebration imaginable.

The cats were glad to see us and it was nice getting home while there was still light in the sky. We don't get the channel the Academy Awards were on so, after playing with iPod Apps, we turned in. It was a very pleasant birthday weekend.

Tracy as a Sophomore

Come see what she was up to at my 1981 link.

This is young Tracy reminding today's Tracy to stretch out after her treadmill workouts.

Fun Tag on my Run

Saw this under 322 on the eastern end of Big Hollow Rd. I sound breathless because I had run 4 miles by this point and had a cold.

My Birthday falls on...

State Patty's Day

- For the CDT

February 24, 2011 6:43am EST

STATE COLLEGE — Green beer. Green shirts. Green beads. Green shamrocks.

CDT file photo

State Patty's Day party-goers shout to people walking along Beaver Avenue from the Penn Towers complex Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. CDT/Michelle Bixby

View larger

• Start tradition of community service
• PSU student learns hard lesson about alcohol
• Leaders look to reverse impact of State Patty's
• Focus on Excessive Drinking series: Read stories, columns

To the rest of the country they mean St. Patrick’s Day, but in State College they all point to Saturday, the drinking “holiday” called State Patty’s Day that has come to confound university officers, borough officials and business owners alike.
Originally created by students because St. Patrick’s Day fell during spring break in 2007, the popularity of State Patty’s Day has grown each year, along with the partying, the drinking, the arrests and the soured town-gown relations.
Determined to tamp down the event, Penn State officials started planning months ago. A Sept. 17 report on alcohol initiatives to the board of trustees included steps aimed at “downplaying State Patty’s Day.”
Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims’s report called for efforts to discourage vendors from promoting the day, “a game day-like law enforcement presence,” and messages about responsible behavior from student leaders and organizations. All of those things have been done. Whether they will affect what happens on Saturday remains to be seen.
The university acted on Sims’s first step Dec. 17, when he and Albert Horvath, university senior vice president for finance and business, sent an open letter to borough merchants, including bars and T-shirt shops.
The letter asked the businesses to get rid of products, displays and services that promote State Patty’s Day and the “climate of over-indulgence it encourages.”
It urged merchants to not change operating hours that day or sell anything that would give the public the impression that State Patty’s Day is a community celebration, whether it be merchandise, apparel or drink specials.
The letter ended with a plea to the merchants to join with the university in putting an end to the annual event.
Meanwhile, State College police and university police plan to get help in the form of extra officers from Bellefonte and Ferguson, Patton and Spring township police departments.
The Centre County Alcohol Task Force said it also will have numerous officers on patrol, in conjunction with State College police, and says it will take a zero-tolerance approach to alcohol and drug-related crimes.
State College Police Chief Thomas King said that last year saw the highest number of criminal activity reports of any State Patty’s Day, or of any other weekend that year. “Hopefully, with increased personnel, we can have a more controlled situation,” King said. “I won’t go into numbers, but we’re treating it like any other home football game or arts fest,” said State College Capt. John Gardner. The state Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, borough residents and campus volunteers also have been enlisted to watch for drunk and disorderly conduct. State College police asked that community members and volunteers be safe, sober, visible and alert during the weekend to promote safety effectively.
From the perspective of some merchants, however, the negative view of State Patty’s Day in the community and at the university has had little effect on their customers.
T-shirt sales at People’s Nation and The Family Clothesline, both downtown merchants, are similar to those of last year, according to representatives of both stores.
The Family Clothesline received a letter from Jody Alessandrine, executive director of the Downtown State College Improvement District, asking them to “not promote a fake holiday,” store coordinator Tracy Bell said.
The store is carrying shirts with State Patty’s printed on them. It considers the day an event similar to a game day or holiday, and selling the shirts is not an endorsement, Bell said. “We provide shirts for every occasion.”
Bell stated The Family Clothesline’s view: “We do not condone excessive drinking. But with that said, we can’t control what people do in our merchandise.” Some of those making money on State Patty’s Day have been students and non-students who have designed and are selling T-shirts for the event. Rachel Yamin, a Penn State junior, and Brett Kazatsky, a Bloomsburg University student, sold more than 2,000 T-shirts through a Facebook event by Jan 13. Both Yamin and Kazatsky declined to comment on their final sales figures.
For bar owners, decisions on what to do on State Patty’s Day are not easily made.
Chris Rosengrant, owner of the Lion’s Den, took a hard stance last year when he shut down operations completely on State Patty’s Day. He said he will do it again this year.
“This day is an eyesore for Penn State and for State College,” he said. “It has lost its purpose.”
He wasn’t alone last year — the Shandygaff also closed — and he said he won’t be surprised if several other bars take the same step this year.
“In my estimation, you’re probably going to see a lot more bars closed (this year). It has been very public that there is going to be heavy enforcement of liquor laws in State College,” Rosengrant said. Enforcement last year translated into the citation of nine bars and 241 people during the day.
Of the 241 cited, just 91 were identified as Penn State students. Rosengrant said a large number of “out-of-towners” were a major contributor to the increased alcohol-related crime that day.
Last year, the State College Tavern Association encouraged bars to offer no specials and operate on normal hours despite the “holiday.” It is not known what its message is this year.
Jennifer Zangrilli, president of the association, could not be reached for comment despite a number of attempts over several weeks. Kildare’s announced that it will not be offering any drink specials and will have a mandatory cover charge. In his Sept. 17 alcohol initiatives report to the Penn State trustees, Sims also listed the idea of encouraging faculty to create “academic expectations for students on Friday and the succeeding Monday” around State Patty’s Day to help mitigate problems. Whether that idea has gained any traction on campus has been hard to gauge.
Some students said they plan to participate in the day whether professors schedule an exam or assignment before State Patty’s Day or not.
Laura Davis, a Penn State sophomore said, “My assignments and exam schedule don’t normally change my weekend plans, so it is no different than with State Patty’s Day. I have an exam the following Monday, but it won’t affect whether or not I participate in the holiday.”
Among faculty, several said they were unaware of the date of State Patty’s Day when they created their syllabus or felt scheduling an exam or assignment before or after the weekend would cause more problems.
“Some students come to class intoxicated, which is not good for the educational climate and bothers students who are interested in learning,” said Andrew Peck, senior lecturer and assistant director of psychology undergraduate studies.
“I don’t think anyone believes that faculty should have the power to constrain a student’s freedom outside of the class environment,” Peck said. “As educators, I believe our job is to teach students about our areas of expertise.”
For Rosengrant, what he saw on the streets last year convinced him that his decision to close was correct.
“How do you explain to your kid why the 20-year-old college student is puking in the middle of the sidewalk at 11 a.m.? That experience convinced me that I made the right move in closing,” he said.
The lure of money — “tens of thousands,” in Rosengrant’s words — is tempting, he said, but the risk is too high for the reward.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/02/24/2540691/downtown-state-college-braces.html#ixzz1EsjPEyhv

Negative Scanner

As a gift, Tracy & I decided to go together and get a nifty little slide and negative scanner for Mom for this past Christmas. It wasn't a straightforward device to use and we finally got around to lending some assistance.

Jim has been working on trying to set it up. He finally determined that it was set up, with limited instructions, for PC use. He wrote an email to the company asking for assistance in using the device for a Mac computer. It turns out the software for the Mac is totally separate and wasn't included with the device. After downloading it, he played around with it last night and got it to work.

It's pretty easy to use and gets descent scans. It's nice to see some of these old images come back to life rather than just sitting in negative sleeves. I look forward to seeing the old slides after Mom scans some in. See some more newly scanned negs at my Groovy South Wayne Street post.

I took a lot of black and white photos when I was a kid so this shot of me was pretty typical. I am wearing a green paisley dress Mom made for me.

Me sitting on our swing set in the back yard.

Dad taking a photo of me photographing him. This was taken downtown Lewistown in a graveyard on Dorcas Street.

Mardi Gras Mask Pin

The mask is about an inch across. I made it to wear to the Mardi Gras Pub Club meal at Otto's next week.

Goofy Neighbors

I know parts of this post will sound like I need to get a life and stop worrying about my neighbors and what they do. At the risk of sounding like a paranoid whacko, let me preface by noting that if we, as makeshift property managers, did not really keep our one tenant in line the yard would look like Sanford & Son's (note these 2008 photos as examples) and the police would still be making regular visits.

Albert is a 50-something year old fellow that has been on disability for probably his whole life. He had polio as a child and says he has a "bad back." I can understand how his back can keep him from getting a job but I don't understand how it impairs his brain. He is one of those people who constantly needs to be reminded to clean up, where to park, and to use a "1" to dial a long distance phone number.

One of the bigger challenges with him is how he lets family and friends walk all over him. They come by and mooch off of him by borrowing his truck, having him repair their vehicles and living with him for months on end. We have had to put an end to the never ending line of of seedy house guests with the landlord's help. He is allowed one guest for a maximum of 14 days during a calendar year.



This is my diary of dealing with those 14 days:

Day 1

Jim had Albert sign the agreement that his brother, Jesse, would be staying for the next 2 weeks. The agreement included needing to know the exact dates, who the guest would be and the vehicle that would be parked on the property. It also said the dates weren't transferable, the guest could not be changed, no guests could be added, the apartment was not to be sublet and the vehicle had to be in the designated guest parking. No guest pets were allowed. Jim also gave Albert an old garden spade of ours so that he would stop using the community snow shovel to clean up his dog's poop.

I looked over the paper he had filled out and was so happy that it locked him into the 2 weeks. Knowing that, after 2 weeks, no sketchy overnight guests would appear for the rest of the year almost made me giddy with happiness. The fact that the dates he put down added up to 15 days were just a tiny hiccup in my bliss. Albert can't do math and what's one extra day for the peace of the rest of the year.

Jesse's vehicle pulled in behind Albert's and they spent most of the day gabbing and smoking, like always. They had the added entertainment of Joe the Contractor coming by to measure the showers in the building. They were probably beside themselves with another good ol' boy in their midst.

Day 2

The day started out pretty mellow. The brothers were smoking, sucking down coffee, gabbing, and giggling their way until sometime I was out running my miles. They must have left together for a while and upon return decided that Jesse's vehicle looked better in the vacant spot for apartment #1 rather than the designated guest parking. That was breaking Albert's signed agreement but why should I care, apartment #1 was vacant.

September 2009, Albert takes a smoke break from working on his truck.

Then comes a lady friend of Jesse's to park in the guest parking. Great, 2 weeks of Jesse's friends will be stopping in to add to the smoke level that drifts into my living room. More gabbing, more laughter, more smoke come up through the floor for the rest of the day.

Joe the Contractor came in the afternoon. He wanted the key to apartment #1 to start work there. "I know I am in your parking space but I'll only be about 1/2 hour," he says. An hour and a half later Jim came home and has to park near the Mitchell's since Albert, Jesse, Jesse's friend and Joe have taken all the parking for the building.

Jim touched base with Joe upon his departure. He made sure he had what he needed and let him know that he would be welcome to park in space for apartemnt #1 while he worked, and pointed out Jesse's vehicle was wrongly there. Joe left and Jim reminded Albert that the space for apartment #1 needs to be left vacant. Jesse would need to, at his leisure, move his vehicle. Oh, and to clean up the dog poop in the yard.

Jesse actually left that night to (we assume) spend the night with his lady friend. Poor Albert was giving up his 2 weeks to such a fair weather friend.

Day 3

Another bitterly cold day and Jesse returned bright and early with a quart of 1/2 & 1/2 cream for their coffee. Maybe he was making it up to his brother that he is such a user. The giggling and gabbing started in full swing. That was the morning I bummed a ride for running at the indoor track.

Days 4 - 7

I was happily distracted with visiting family over this period. Jesse was in residence sometimes and other times seemingly not. Because Albert had agreed to specific and limiting dates, I didn't have to keep close tabs or worry about him needing to make up the days at another time.

I had a plan for the remaining days to count them down since it was a total of more than 2 weeks and I didn't want to get to "Day 15."

7 Days to Go

We slept in because Jim had taken the morning off to recover from our trip to NYC and back the day before. It was nice to wake up and have a sunny sky to go with the warm breeze. All was quiet in the apartments below.

Just as we headed out for a run, we noticed Albert's truck was gone and Jesse's vehicle was in it's place. With the quiet in the building, we assumed they both must have departed.

The quiet bliss extended well into the afternoon when they returned together. Albert chose not to park in the guest parking but in front of the vacant spot for apartment #1. He wasn't in the spot but had it blocked. Soon, Albert came knocking upon my door.

Conversation below, me, Albert.

"Hey Al, what's up?"

"Do you have that paper that Jim had that says how long Jesse can stay?"

"No, he sent it to the landlord to sign. Why do you need it?"

"I was wondering when Jesse is allowed to stay until. It had it on that paper."

"Oh! That was until the 20th or 21st. He can stay another week."

"Wow, you have a good memory."

All I could think was, "Dude, I'm counting the fricken days until Jesse has to leave."

When Joe the Contractor came he was forced to park somewhere else. Joe chose to take the parking space of Rick, the guy across the street. Unbelievable.

6 Days to Go

Albert's truck remained blocking the spot for apartment #1 as he and his brother used Jesse's vehicle to do any running around for the night prior or that morning.

At lunch, it got the better of Jim and he told Albert that he would have to move his truck because it was blocking the spot for apartment #1. Joe needed to park there if he came by later. Albert and Jesse had fun driving back and forth over a huge pile of snow in the guest parking area to make Albert's truck fit int he space.

I was out of laundry to do (the dryer drowns out their giggling) so I made plans to get out of the house later in the afternoon. When I met up with Jim, he asked what I wanted for supper. I said, "A gun." He ran to the grocery to get a frozen pizza and came back with a foam disk gun that I had fun with. Funny thing though, I never pointed it at the objects of my frustration. It's ready if I need it.



5 Days to Go

The day started out mellow with the brothers scooting out and back in Albert's truck to get early morning provisions (smokes/coffee/ice cream). His return parking did not block the other space but took up pretty much all the guest parking. If you park carefully and thoughtfully, 2 cars can fit into the guest parking.


Lunchtime rolls around and Joe the Contractor shows up about that time. He takes the remaining off-street spot and all is good. Just as Jim was heading back to work after lunch we noticed the Jesse's lady friend's car is wedged between Albert & Jesse's. If Albert had just pulled up 5' more, there would have been room for her. These guys really are not the sharpest crayons in the box. You would think that would be it, but no. A half hour later Albert's ex-girlfriend shows up to join the party by taking our guest parking space for a while. The photo of a full lot of parking is one reason why I hate when Albert has guests over - they come in droves.

4 Days to Go

I warned you that you are going to start thinking I am crazy for noticing all that goes on with these guys but, just like the out of control garbage in the yard, they have a history of causing late night chaos in this building. Just after 9 PM the night before this, the brothers packed into Jesse's vehicle and left. That could mean they return loudly at 2-3 AM after bars close or were running to Giant for more provisions. I assumed Giant and I told Jim to watch how we could see the whole way across to the grocery store and watch them circle the lot to find parking. Maybe I should have gotten my foam disk gun.

We guessed I was wrong because we never saw them pull in. Just as we tired of waiting (2 minutes), they came walking from the dead end side of the street lighting their way with the glowing ends of their cigarettes!

For reasons we will never know, they must have parked Jesse's vehicle over in the parking lot near Celebration Hall for the night. It was the only place they could have returned from that direction, on foot, so quickly. The vehicle was back before 7 AM and they chose to block, not use, their own off street parking. So strange.

Happily, they both left before 8AM and I went into town for most of the day.

3 Days to Go

The neighbors were quiet and subdued all night and gratefully left soon after I got back from my 9 miler.  It was another beautiful day so I spent it reading outside and working on a failed spray paint project. Joe the Contractor came to bang pipes just before lunch so I bummed another ride into town.

I'm not sure when the brothers got back that day but Jesse left around 8PM and did not return for over 12 hours. Maybe his brother ran out of stuff he could freeload off of him. They haven't giggled in days.

2 Days to Go

I know I can make it through with Jim home for the weekend. Joe the Contractor is making a lot of headway on the vacant apartment and it gives me hope that our shower will turn out just as nicely.



I caught a bad cold but it didn't stop us from getting out of the house since the giggling was back on full volume.

When we came back Albert asked if he could talk to Jim for a bit. He took down the copy of the agreement because we were like 110% sure he was going to ask if Jesse could stay longer. We were surprised that he said he might be moving even as early as the end of the month and wanted to know if we had received any calls regarding him (reference?/landlord?). We won't hold our breath but it seems like the scheme of the year for Jesse & Albert to move in together. Whatever it was, it had started the giggling back up.

They left about 10PM not to reappear until, silently, sometime in the middle of the night.


1 Day to Go

I still had my cold and the giggling continued. Jim was hoping beyond hope that Albert will move out. That prospect got me excited.

The brothers hung out all day gabbing and giggling so I kept the tv on even when I was reading.

0 Days to Go

In the morning, I still had my cold and it snowed overnight. I was happy knowing it was the last day. I still thought Jesse would probably stay another night and could even return for day visits but it was a relief to have made it through the 2 weeks.

The day started with the building's smoke alarms going off just after 6:00 AM. Jim went down to check the vacant apartment but more that likely it was something got burnt (coffee?) in Apartment 2. I had the chance to reinforce my training with the cats that the smoke alarm noise means they get treats. They didn't all run like they were going to be killed and came out pretty straight away. I would say the training is working.

The brothers hung out most of the morning, smoking out front, chatting away - thick as thieves. Before 10 AM a phone message was left on our answering machine asking Jim to return the call of a woman named Jessica, regarding "a past tenant." Jim gave her a call and she seemed to be a landlady asking about Albert. Jim related that although Albert is a pleasant enough fellow he will sometimes forget and get confused if things aren't in writing.

With all of that, it sure seems like the brothers are scheming to move into a new place together. Their tone sounded so pleased with themselves all morning and afternoon.

About 3:30 PM Jesse left with some clothes on hangers (typically a sign of his moving in/out). I was not 100% in belief that he is moving out though. Albert can't count and is easily manipulated into breaking little rules. I could just imagine Jesse saying to him, "What do we have to lose? We are moving out anyway." Well, the fellas could lose their security deposit especially if they aren't giving a month's notice. Jesse isn't a very bright guy either.

Although it wasn't just some wishful made up scheme on Albert's part, I'll still believe it when I see it. That goes for Jesse's leaving after this day as well as Albert's deciding to move to a new residence.

One final thought at the end of what turned out to be a non-eventful 2 weeks, without Albert in residence there are good and bad points. Good is that we will do our best never to have a smoker in either apartment again. Bad is that it's hard to do that without discriminating. Good is that we will never hear that damn truck revving in any of the parking spaces (or in the YARD). Bad is new folks could make a lot more noise all night. Good is that most people know how to behave. Bad is that with Albert we knew what to expect and pretty much had it down to a science or art on how to keep him on the straight and narrow. Unknowns can be just as stressful as having to deal with a known tenant that has been a handful over the past 6 years. Life goes on, either way.

ABT in London

Arron featured nicely at 15 seconds, 52 seconds then at 2 minutes.

Toby

Why do big dogs seem to love me? I really do like them but they have a way of overwhelming me. Toby is but 5 months old and I can tell by his good nature that he is going to be a fine dog.

Moon Tree & (Almost) Full Moon

She some stories about the moon trees on a few of Jim's blog posts.

I wasn't called the "Mad Mooner" in high school of nothing.

Cold Running

Jim running past one of the horses.

Not letting a bad head cold get the best of me. We logged 6 miles!

Turning Cold

Bundled against the cold, while nursing a cold.

The Horta!

We found a bunch of Hortas, perhaps living off of the salt (or dilithium) in the Wal Mart parking lots!!