The Marathon - That Was and That Wasn't

Last year four of us did the Music City Half Marathon in Nashville - Ryan, Marci, Janice (Ryan's Mom) and me.  Today only Ryan finished the half marathon and the rest of us cheered him on.  And there was plenty to cheer for!!  Ryan completed the course in 2:08, a full 18 minutes faster than his 2009 time.

The weather forecast was grim and the marathon organizers were warning that any marathoners with a less than 10:20 minute pace would be routed to the half marathon course.  Having prepared for and completed marathons on a 15-minute pace, I know how disappointing that would be.  However, sitting here now in the comfort of a warm house now vs. dodging thunder and lightening on a race course, the choice seems quite clear!

Ryan did finish before the thunderstorms started and we all had plenty of time to get back to our car without getting rained on.  This was Malenda's first marathon experience.  She jumped right in and welcomed Daddy at the finish line with a great big, huge smile.

As we walked into the marathon finishing area at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, we spotted The Biggest Loser bus for Dan Evans, who was running the half marathon with his mom, Jackie.  They lost 136 and 80 pounds, respectively, and it looks like they are keeping up their healthy lifestyles.  Dan was also performing at the finish line with songs from his 2008 album "Goin' All Out", a country music album.

Now - the marathon that wasn't - the Knoxville Team Relay Marathon.  The Knoxville course is divided into 4 segments and our 4-person team of Marci, Ryan, Janice and me were trained and ready.  We picked up our race numbers on Saturday afternoon and were ready for a 7 AM start. 

When we got up Sunday morning and checked the weather forecast, it was already drizzling and a big green blob was headed straight for Knoxville.  Marci, who had the 1st 6.3 mile leg of the relay was ready to go, and could have finished her leg, and probably I could have finished the second 6.1 mile leg.  BUT.... Ryan, who had the longest leg of the race at 7.9 miles, was probably going to get wet.

Our team decision was to forgo the team relay this year.  So, we packed up and went to Katherine's house in the 4th and Gill neighborhood, which is on the course at mile 14. The whole neighborhood really gets out and supports this event so it's a great gathering place to watch the runners.  We got there soon enough to see the leader, who finished in 2:27, just a little more than a 5-minute pace.  These are speeds I will never accomplish, but I do enjoy watching others who can do this and, in my mind, I'm one of them.

As it turned out, at about the time Ryan would have been running by Katherine's house, the sky opened up and the rain absolutely poured down.  So, we congratulated ourselves on our decision as we ate bagels and Katherine's delicious breakfast.  One of her neighbors who was running the marathon, even stopped in for a quick break and stretch.

We also caught up with Kathy for dinner on Friday night in Market Square.  We were staying in a downtown hotel, and the evening before the marathon was beautiful.  We took Malenda in the stroller and walked past the convention center just as the Kids Run was  starting at the Clinch Avenue bridge.  This is a terrific event with each child completing 25 miles in the weeks leading up to the marathon, and running the final mile to complete the marathon distance of 26.2 miles on the evening before the official marathon.  They, just like the adults, run across the finish line at the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium.

Since I skipped both the Knoxville and Nashville events this year, it has now been a year since I have completed a distance event.  The break has been good, but I'm feeling the urge to get back on the training routine.  Las Vegas has a marathon event in December - hmmmmmmmm.  Might be time for a run in Sin City!

Florida Warmup

We normally head out to Florida to warm up as soon as we get back from cold and snowy Montana.  However, since we were staying with sweet Malenda through February we didn't go south until March.  Spending the time with Malenda was great and we also got in some "Will" time before leaving for the month.

Will, our 6-year old grandson, is in first grade this year and is growing so fast.  Finding the time to spend with him during the school year is more of a challenge now, but I managed to catch him one day after school.  It was a beautiful day so we headed to the Riverpark and kicked the soccer ball around.  There's lots of open greenspace and plenty of playground equipment.  It's fun to watch his skill and coordination progress and he seems to really enjoy this sport.

 Our friends in Florida, Martha and Jim, always have some fun activities planned when we get there.  Martha, who is in the process of producing a musical this fall, is well connected with the musicians in the Tampa Bay area, so there's always a concert or jazz event somewhere.  This year, Dean, one of her cohorts helping to write the musical, was playing a regular gig with a Dixeland jazz ensemble at the Bilmar Resort on Clearwater Beach.  The resort is right on the beach, and we grabbed a table on the patio where we could see the beautiful sunset.

This Dixieland group has become so popular, it's necessary to arrive a couple of hours early to get a seat to hear them.  Dean, who plays a hot stride piano, stopped by our table for a visit before the show got started.  This group always closes their show with "When the Saints Go Marching In".  As soon as this tune started, the women in the room (obviously regulars) jumped up and started dancing around the room twirling their fancy parasols.  If this is how the saints act in heaven, I definitely want to sign up for that group!!

We also took a 4-day trip down to Sanibel Island to visit friends Connie and Dennis.  This beautiful island never fails to disappoint.  I must have been so relaxed that I totally forgot to take any pictures, but the weather was beautiful, BUT chilly!!  One would think that getting that much further south would make for warmer weather - not this year.  In fact, most people we talked with were complaining about how cold and wet the whole winter season had been.  I suppose it's all relative - when you're coming from snow and near zero temperatures, it just doesn't seem all that cold to me!

February with Malenda

Malenda's parents wanted her to delay daycare until she was 6 months old.  Mom Marci went back to work when she was 4 months old, so the two grandmothers volunteered to help out for the 2 month interim.  Janice took the month of January while I was in Montana, and I took the month of February.

What a sweet little Valentine buddy I had!  This little girl has clothes for every occasion and Valentine's Day is no exception!  Hearts everywhere!

At the end of the month, not only was Malenda 6  months old, but she became legally a member of our family!  Parents and both sets of grandparents could not wipe the smiles off our faces as the judge declared that she was officially our child and grandchild!  Malenda couldn't resist checking out everything on the judge's desk.  Wonder what this portends for her future?

Montana Winters

If it's January, it must be Montana.  As much as we love the summers in Big Sky - the winter has its own charm.  The social activity is almost frenetic.  The community of people who live there year round defy the weather with a constant stream of concerts, dinners, pot lucks and, of course, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding - and on and on it goes.

We arrived in Big Sky on January 5 and met Connie and Dennis from Chattanooga and Kat and Jim from Oakland at the airport.  All of us headed up the mountain ready to hit the slopes.  Kat and Connie have made this trip almost every year since we have been in Big Sky and we have our favorite runs and lunch spots.  This year, we even shared our favorite ski instructor, Rich, for an afternoon of tuning up our technique.

Nancy and Jim, our neighbors, sponsored a concert evening in the village.  Duo Solo is the husband wife team of Michael Kirkendoll and Mary Fukushima.  Based currently in Stillwater, OK, they met while studying at Manhattan School of Music.  Nancy and Jim met Michael and Mary when Michael competed for the American Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Awards held annually in Indianapolis.  Mary is a flutist who produces sounds on a flute that I never knew existed!  She teaches at Pittsburg State University, just across the Oklahoma border in KS.  Together, these remarkably talented musicians are committed to performing the music of living composers, and they treated the audience to a delightful evening of contemporary music, both in solo and duo mode.

On the night after the concert, a group of friends gathered with Michael and Mary at the 320 Guest Ranch for dinner.  The 320 is famous for its pig roasts in the summer, and steaks in the winter.  Oh... and now famous for one of its signature drinks - the Buttery Cowboy.  Think hot chocolate, butterscotch schnapps and Bailey's - mmmmmmm.  Connie, Kat and I went straight for the liquor store to get the ingredients so that we could enjoy our own Buttery Cowboys at home. 

Every winter, I look forward to the Master the Mountain program at Big Sky.  This 6-week program is offered in January and pushes participants to ski parts of the mountain off the beaten track.  My skiing has improved so much through this program.  Roger Schwer, who has been at Big Sky as an instructor at least 40 years, organizes this program every year.  His wife, Margie, also an excellent instructor, has taken me to places to which I would have never ventured without her calm encouragement.  These two are an inspiration have done more than anyone I know to instill in me this life long love affair with skiing.  When I head down the slopes with beautiful skiers in my class, some of them 20 years my senior, who have an incredible zest for living, I am inspired beyond any fear I might have of the newest steep run.

In late January, Wayne and Mary Jane, both from Nashville, dropped in for a week-long visit.  Wayne is a medical school classmate of Butch's, and Mary Jane grew up in our hometown of Sparta.  We took a day and drove over to Gardiner and through the Roosevelt Arch to the northern entrance to Yellowstone.  This is the only road which is open into the park in the winter.  We drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs and spent some time hiking around the moon-like frozen fumaroles.  It's easy to imagine that you are on another planet amid these strange geologic features.  I really think these amazing hot springs are even more beautiful in the winter - strangely fascinating.

We drove on over to the northeastern end of the park and stopped in Cooke City (population 100) for a break.  This very snowy little outpost is the gateway to the Beartooth Highway in the summer, called one of the most beautiful drives in America by the late Charles Kurault.  However, this road is closed in the winter, and Cooke City is the end of the road.  So, we decided to grab a quick snack and warm cup of coffee.  The proprietor recommended their signature drink, ginger tea and it was a terrific recommendation.  We spent the rest of the week trying to reproduce this delicious hot drink - must be my year for discovering drinks.  This one is basically hot lemonade made with fresh lemons and steeped with grated fresh ginger.  If you try this at home, be sure that you use plenty of ginger - then, build a fire in the fireplace and enjoy the ginger tea slowly.  Mmmmm... makes me wish it was winter again (really??).

On our way out of the park, a curious coyote followed us for what seemed like miles.  I really think he was just looking for a free lunch.  We also spotted elk, bison and big horn sheep.  These animals survive very well inside Yellowstone and manage to find food growing around the natural hot springs and geysers, which keep the ground warm enough for vegetation even through the harshest winter. 

The bison find food by ramming their rather large head into the snow and shaking it back and forth to clear away the snow and uncover the vegetation that might be there.  When they raise their head, they look like they have been hit head-on with a massive snowball.  From November until late April, this is their life - and most of them survive!  This miracle of life and survival hits me every time I visit this wonderful place.

That's my Montana winter story this year...  next, back to TN and a warmup in Florida.  Stay tuned - I will get caught up on this blog!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year??

Yes... I know.... it's April.  I'm a bit behind.  Here's the quick summary.  Over the next few days, I promise I'll get myself caught up to spring.

Christmas for our family this year was at Jimmy's house.  With the addition of Soeung, Miles and Camille this year, his house is much fuller!!  We arrived early on Christmas morning and looked in the windows to find the 3 kids already checking out the gifts under the tree.

We quickly joined in as the wrapping paper and ribbon began to fly around the room.  Star Wars and Wii games seemed to be the hits this year.

This was the year I finally finished Will's needlepoint stocking.  Having started this project shortly after Will was born, I had promised myself that I would complete it by the time he finished high school - I'm ahead of schedule!!  If I take this long on every stocking which needs to be completed for our newest family members, I will need to work at it a good bit faster than I did on this one.

Even the adults in our family get stockings.  In fact, this is usually much more anticipated than the wrapped gifts.  There's always a bit of a surprise in each stocking, and it has become quite the challenge to surprise each person with an unexpected treasure.  We really enjoyed seeing Miles, Camille and Soeung get into this family tradition.

Marci and Ryan arrived with our newest granddaughter - Malenda Sage.  At 4 months old, Malenda was quite delighted with all the activity.  Her cousins were absolutely taken with this new little baby.  Marci was able to find a quiet corner for Malenda, who still snoozes quite often.  But, when she was awake, she was all smiles.

Everyone contributed to the Christmas dinner.  Jimmy's sweet potatoes were a particular favorite this year.  And what would Christmas be without granddaddy's famous cheese grits casserole!  As usual, there was so much food that all of us had to eat that evening and the next day to finally finish it.  The cat, Butterscotch, seemed quite content with his catnip toy and didn't even seem to notice the feast on the table.

How many in our family now?  10??  Last year we had one grandchild - now we have 4!  What fun we had with these kids!  We were tired at the end of the day, and went home to sleep well - the best part about being grandparents!!

Thanksgiving with Family

What better way to spend Thanksgiving than with family!  We started the Thanksgiving weekend by traveling to Sparta to share Thanksgiving dinner with brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Pat.  What a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner Pat had prepared.  My favorites were the "little birds" - otherwise known as Cornish game hens, and the cooked apricots.  Pat says she is a rebel when it comes to including the cranberry sauce.  The apricots were indeed a refreshing new touch.  Best of all, everything was low fat, low carb and absolutely delicious!

Friday evening, we traveled down to Tullahoma for the 50th anniversary celebration of my 1st cousin, Ray and Ann, hosted by their son and daughter-in-law.  Now, it seems to me that these milestones are only for grandparents - I remember my own grandparents' golden wedding anniversary back in the 50s.  Can it be that my cousin is there already??   WOOPS!!  Guess I'm not that far behind - we celebrated our 42nd anniversary this year.  This comes in the category of "everybody else is getting old - not me"?!?  We had a really fun evening and Ray and Ann were surrounded by friends and family.  The meal was delicious, the conversation rich and warm.  We finished the evening with a champagne toast and wedding cake with the best frosting I have ever tasted.

Saturday was the day for Thanksgiving dinner with children and grandchildren.  Butch absolutely hit a home run with his 19-pound turkey a la Martha Stewart.  It was beautifully browned and REALLY moist.  Martha doesn't make it easy, but the result was fabulous.  Marci brought the broccoli casserole and the cheese grits (my mother's recipe), Jimmy prepared the sweet potatoes and Soeung made her favorite 7-layer salad.  I contributed the cranberry relish and we had chess pie and pecan pie, compliments of Simply Southern in Pelham, one of our favorite local restaurants.  Those of you who may remember my grandmother's reputation for chess pie will be surprised to hear me say that this one is as good as I remember hers to be.

This was Will's first time to meet his new cousin, Malenda.  He and Camille were quite excited to hold her and Malenda was a perfect champ - actually seemed to be quite fascinated with her new cousins.  We have gone from 1 grandchild to 4 grandchildren in less than one year.  The joy - and the decibel level - has multiplied many times over.

We had put up the Christmas tree and the lights.  The 3 grandchildren began digging out all the ornaments and garland.  Before we knew it, it was beautifully decorated, and Jimmy topped the tree with the angel. The kids rewarded themselves with orange juice- well deserved!!  I may never decorate the tree myself again.  Wonder if they will be around when it's time to undecorate the tree?

I love this holiday season - and I'm giving thanks every day for the wonderful family that we have around us.  Our house and our lives are indeed full - and now strangely quiet!!  We had a couple of inches of snow this weekend, and I'm sitting here in this quiet house feeling very warm as I look at this very special Christmas tree!!

We are looking forward to Malenda's first Christmas.  I just can't get enough of this beautiful little 3-month old child.  The joy and hope that she expresses every time we see her reflect the true message of this season.

"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on."  -Carl Sandburg.

I Love Being a Grandmother

One of the things I miss most about being away from Tennessee is my grandchildren.  Fortunately, Marci and Ryan and Jimmy and Soeung send pictures, but it's just not the same as being there to get a hug and seeing them in action.

Just before we came out to Montana, we went on our annual Mt. LeConte hike in the Smokies.  Will has been hiking Mt. Leconte since he was 2 years old, the first two years on his Dad's back, and then at the age of 4 he made the entire hike up on his own and every year since then.  This year, Soeung and her two children, Miles (8) and Camille (6) made the hike with us as well.  All 3 kids made it up the mountain and down without a problem.  Kudos to the parents, who worked in plenty of breaks along the way to make the hike more fun for them.  We stopped at the stream and at "squirrel rock" and fed the critters there who are always looking for an easy snack.  Soeung, who teaches environmental science, has a quick eye for flora and fauna and found little creatures that the rest of us would have just walked right past.

On our recent quick trip to Tennessee, we arrived on a day when Miles had a soccer game.  It was a beautiful, perfect fall day - no snow there!!!  Miles is 8 years old and actually scored a goal during the game.  I don't even know which team won, and I couldn't tell that the kids even cared.  They just loved playing the game and had a great time.

I asked Camille (age 6)  if she wanted to play soccer.  She informed me very quickly that she played the piano, so I guess that means "no"?

Will, on the other hand, seems to have some interest in the game.  Of course, Jimmy loves the game so much and he and Will carry a soccer ball with them at all times.  On this particular day, Wiill was practicing "head shots" with the ball.  It goes like this:  throw the ball in the air toward Will and he bounces it off his head.  And, let me tell you, he didn't miss many!

Camille had found a group of girls to play, and after Will got tired of the head shots, he wanted to walk around the track that surrounds the soccer fields.  I needed a good walk anyway, so off we went.  At age 6, I am pretty impressed with Will's conversational skills.  We stopped at the creek and threw sticks in the water to see how fast they moved, talked about messages in a bottle and following it all the way to the ocean and how long it would take to get there, about riding horses in Montana, and how many books he has read.  This is what I miss!!  I could have talked to him all day - I'm not sure Will felt the same way!  Hahaha.

A couple of days later, I was off to Nashville for a quick visit with Marci and Ryan and 6-week-old  Malenda.  I stayed in Nashville as a "Mom's helper" for 2 weeks after Malenda was born - my goodness, what a difference 4 weeks makes!  This little girl was smiling, hitting at her mobile toys and almost sleeping through the night.  She now weighs 12 pounds and still eats with such gusto.

Marci took advantage of the time I was there to go out to lunch with some friends and run a few errands.    Malenda and I had an hour-long stroll and she slept through about half of it ... again, the weather was just beautiful.  She takes very short naps during the day, which leaves lots of good play time.  We play silly sound games - sticking out our tongues, buzzing our lips,  making raspberry sounds, animal sounds, etc.  Too much fun!

Marci just sent some new pictures.  She is growing so fast.  Two more weeks and I'll be back in Tennessee and not just looking at pictures.

Now, I know it's my job...  but, I really do have the cutest, smartest, best grandchildren in the world!  I absolutely love this stage in my life and I love being a grandmother.