Friday, July 31, 2009
Happy (part II)
I often tell others about what a funny little dog Scooby is, but to date, it has basically been folk lore, as easy to prove as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster because I haven't been able to prove it. I submit to you this photo as proof that Scooby is a happy, silly pup!
I took the dogs for a walk Saturday night by myself. We went over to the Junior High because school is out so no one is ever on campus, the rabbits are running loose and the big area allows Daphne and Scooby to run to their hearts content while Shadow can plod along on a slow and short route. The trip was a productive one, with at least 4 lively rabbit chases that had both dogs panting and looking rather pleased with themselves.
The sun was quickly setting, the neighborhood was quiet, the grass was cool and refreshing...Scooby was just feeling happy, so she plopped down in the clover and started rolling around on her back. I whipped out my Blackberry and snapped the photo before she realized what I was doing (I am sneaky like that), and after I dropped the offending instrument back into my pocket, she started to roll again.
It makes me happy to see my dogs so happy and carefree. Blurry or not, this vision makes me smile.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Happy (part I)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Midnight Madness
Honoring a Newton (women) tradition of seeing the movie on opening day AND celebrating the fact that Holly can certainly stay up late without me having to worry about how she will do in school the next day, we bought our tickets online for the first midnight showing! Rachel and Karina got in on the action too, we were one fine quartet, ready to take in the sixth installment of Holly's wizard heartthrob.
In theory, the midnight show sounds cool. For the 17-20 year old set (the average age of the midnight showing attendees), it probably is cool. For the 40+ parent who worked a long day and didn't get home until 9:30pm...cool is not the word that I was thinking as we were standing in line on the backside of the theater at 10:30 at night, with an hour and a half to go before the movie even started, let alone stay awake for the 2 1/2 hour movie after the commercials and trailers. What was I thinking?
Fortunately for me, there was a McDonald's right across the street so I loaded up on a large iced coffee before we went into the theater. I had to be strategic...drink it early enough to deal with the multiple bathroom stops that will be needed but not so early that the caffeine leaves my system and I succumb to sleep in the midst of a very important plot point.
The timing was just about right and when combined with the excitement of the kids around me (I tried to blend in by wearing a mismatched collection of sweatpants, tshirt and sweatshirt, much to Holly's chagrin), I powered all the way through to the end of the most-enjoyable (albeit somewhat sad in parts) movie at 3:20 am.
I hope that the next two movies come out pretty soon, I am not sure how much longer I will be able to keep up with the midnight crowd!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Have Shoes, Will Walk
Monday, July 27, 2009
When Does it Get Light?
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Opening Ceremonies
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Walkin' on the Bridge of the Bay
Friday, July 24, 2009
Half Way...for the day
We hit the 1/2 marathon marker sometime after 12:30 or so; not too bad in terms of overall time, but not at the absolute front of the pack. Sally was our official time/position checker, she would check with the counters at the entrance of every rest-stop to see what number we were in terms of overall walkers. We typically hovered in the 1300's, with the one exception when it was 3200-something...there is probably a story in there somewhere.
We had a nice visit at lunch (which was the stop prior to our 13.1 milestone) from Sally's family (Denise and Nikko) as well as Miss Gabe, who hobbled out on her crutches to say hello! It was a very festive event with the walkers enjoying a bit of fresh air on the peds and a clean pair of socks.
Always looking out for the feet, we are!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Ice Cream, my feet scream
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Great Golden Gate
We got into camp, were immediately greeted by some very kind volunteers who carried our gear and set up our tent for us. We set up our sleeping quarters, grabbed our stuff and trekked over to the showers. Amazing how some hot water and soap can absolutely change one's perspective on life.
We opted to visit the tent with foot and back massagers before dinner because we didn't want to miss out! There were plenty of seats open, and we sat back to enjoy the magic of modern electrics, I've got to seriously think about getting one of those back massagers for home!
Dinner in the big top tent never tasted so good and then it was off to bed. The showers and sinks were a pretty good distance back across the camp, so we opted to do some teeth-brushing over a trash can at the edge of the camp. Holly and I stood and admired the Golden Gate Bridge as the sun finished setting.
Having walked back and forth across that bridge twice in one day gave us a whole new appreciation for the size and beauty of that bridge...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
What the Hill
Monday, July 20, 2009
A stroll in the Park
Friday, July 17, 2009
Memento
The completion of the walk is almost anti-climactic, although the sitting down as soon as possible part is a treat. Holly and I admitted to one another when there were about 2 miles to go (just as we hit the edge of Golden Gate Park) that our feet felt like we were walking on the bone. It was an acknowledgement that there had been much activity on the feet and legs without any attempt to complain...we were wrapping up nearly 40 miles of walking and our feet/legs knew it!
There is something about knowing you have almost reached your goal that makes a person (or the Newton women, anyway), wax on about the experience. Could we go further if we had to? What is the absolute maximum number of miles/days that we could walk? Will we do this again? Did Holly feel cleansed after her Potrero Hill meltdown?
There are a lot of things to talk about in those last few miles, all of which were happy to do to get to that magical moment where we plop down on our gear bags and wait for our ride. Thank goodness for the car!!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A Tremendous FEET
Friday, July 10, 2009
100+% !!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Nervous Nellie
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
New Moon Rising
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Unknown Eater
Monday, July 6, 2009
A Good Gig
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Back for More
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Chafe Me
Friday, July 3, 2009
Texas Toasted
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Car with a View II
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Car with a View I
I am also renewing my commitment to doing daily entries on the blog, so enjoy the view.
I certainly did!