Those Were the Days...

I borrowed a high quality slide scanner from a photographer friend to scan in a couple hundred old slides that my Aunt Jill had. Although a long process, it's a rewarding one. The slides come to life in nice big photos. I loved looking at the photos and feeling like I was there for the moment. In today's world of cell phones, computers and constant interruption, it's so nice to look back to simpler times. The photos made me happy and sad. Sad to no longer have my Grandparents but happy to see them when they were young and full of life with family. Please click on the photos to see a more detailed and larger view. I think some of the expression gets lost with the template sized photos.


Here's my Mom on graduation day (from High School). People always say I look just like her. This photo might have convinced me. I can only imagine how proud my Grandparents were. I'm a bit like my Mom as I'm not one to "shine" for the camera. Keep those things away from me! However, my Mom showed a sincere smile for this photo and it definitely made her shine.


Wow! I really love this photo. I'm not sure who was taking the photo. I suspect it might have been my Grandfather. I'm not sure that the double exposure was on purpose, but what a perfect mistake. Look how the baby's eyes (cousin Chris) are closed and in the double exposure they're open. It's as if the baby is dreaming about it surroundings. Look how the mother (Aunt Julie) is looking at her baby. One can only imagine all the thoughts... excitement, joy and worry of being a new Mom.


My Grandmother and my Uncle Tom. Grandmother was a great Mom and it just shows in the beaming face of Tom. I love how beautiful, young and vibrant my Grandmother looks. She was such a soft hearted person and I can't help but feel happiness when I see photos of her like this.


By the hammer on the deck of the raft, I suspect my Grandfather just completed this raft on Portage Lake where their cabin was. As a child, I spent a lot of time at their cabin as well as jumping off that raft. He built it to last like everything he built (including the cabin). Our family spent lots of time doing water activities in the summer. On the raft from left (in the striped t-shirt with short sleeves) are Aunt Julie, my Mom (Joan--in the large stripe 3/4 length striped shirt), Aunt Jill, Grandfather, Grandma, neighbors at lake, Isabel Snyder (lady in green sweater) and Irene and Dick Dressel (Dick is leaning over a boat motor and Irene is in the blue sweater).



The beach scene. See we really are a family that likes to be near water... even if it's freezing. I'm sure my Aunt Jill has the story. If she fills me in I'll update the caption. I thought it was a cool photo because I know my Grandfather was taking the photo with my cousin Tim in his arms. I'm sure the others were wondering why the baby wasn't in photo. From left to right, my Grandma, Aunt Jill, her little brother and my Uncle Tom, and Uncle Steve. Clearly, there were no such things as beach shoes.

The Spare Bathroom Completed

I admit it... it took me FOREVER to finish the spare bathroom. I think I gutted it over a year ago and then procrastinated for a very long time. I found it useful to use for a closet. I'm not sure my house guest in February would find that convenient so I started working on it in December.


I cut down the floor stone to make the shower border. If you buy the border separately, it's quite pricey. I saved big bucks by taking the extra time to cut the sheets of rock.


The new toilet is a Toto. I've never been into toilets but I have to admit this one is really cool. I love the half and full flush option (like in Europe) and it has a soft close seat. It's not super compact but the shape and design opened up the space a little.


We put in a mirror that can be tilted up or down. This is nice for personal preference and height differences. The towel bar on the pedestal is really nice. I put hooks on the back of the door and the "invisible" towel holder on the wall. That eliminated the need for a towel bar.

Exciting Day in The Valley of the Sun

Wow! Has this weekend been action-packed. First, the Cardinals are actually going to the Super Bowl. Matt went to the game, so I'm sure I'll hear all about the craziness when he gets home.

Then the East Valley (Phoenix, Tempe & Scottsdale) saw record numbers of runners for PF Chang's Rock-N-Roll Marathon & Half Marathon. Being amongst the crowd of runners, I can say that this event is just a little too big. Did it, got the shirt and I'm done. Before I even started, my heels got stepped on about 5 times. I think that was a sign of things to come. The water areas were slow and slippery. When I realized I wasn't going to meet my time goal (2 hours) I checked out mentally around mile 8 or 9. I decided not to beat myself up. I probably shouldn't have attempted a half marathon only 6 weeks after doing a full. I finished in 2:15 (unofficial--that's what my Garmin said). Considering my time was 2:08 at the halfway point of The Tucson Marathon (which I ran the full or 26.2 miles), it was not a good time for me.

The best part of the event was participating with some of my boot camp buddies. We had some good laughs. I'm happy the run is over and looking forward to getting the Cardinals game review from Matt over a nice dinner and a glass of wine.

Next up is the Ragnar Del Sol. I'm really looking forward to that event as it will be relatively short (but challenging) runs. My legs are a total of 18.2 miles.