Update....Week 37 of 52

 

        September 16th 2012...today I planted 90 tulip bulbs in one of our summertime projects...not that you can tell...but take my word for it...they are in there...

Friday May 17th 2013...here is a photo of the tulips blooming in the project from last years week 37 of 52...success..

 

 

Week 36 of 52

            This weekend found us in South Bend Indiana...we did something some of us had never done before...we went to a University of Notre Dame football game...I knew that Aaron had wanted to see a game for a long time but I didn't know how important it was to him...Aaron and his brother Adam were born in South Bend but we moved to Minnesota when Aaron was only two years old...every visit to South Bend we had to go walk the campus and visit the book store and get new tee-shirts...and on one visit we got to go into the stadium...

            Aaron told us that attending a Fighting Irish football game was right up in the top two things on his bucket list...and that he might cry...it was that emotional for him...I honestly thought it was a long way to go for a football game...

            We met up with Edwin and his friend and we did some tailgating...never tailgated before...that was a fun time time thanks to Edwin...Adam would have enjoyed this but he already had plans for this weekend and didn't travel with us...photos from this adventure are on FB...

            We went to watch the players walk from the library to the stadium...I took a few photos here...Aaron kept saying get this person...get that person...to me they were just a bunch of guys in suits...so I stopped taking photos and put my hand out like the rest of the crowd...the next thing I knew Owen Wilson was high fiveing me...yes that's right the actor Owen Wilson...Vince Vaughn was also there...when I looked through my photos I had one with the two of them on it...way in the background...I will have enlarge it...needless to say I was very happy at this time and was glad I had made the trip...don't know if it was the tailgating that had made me happy or Owen Wilson...

            It was good to see Notre Dame win...it made Aaron's first Fighting Irish game an experience to remember...I some how think this is not going to be his last game...

        

                                                   July 1999...Aaron...Joe...Adam...

                                                  A little boys' dream turns into.....

                                                       ....a young mans reality....

                                                 September 8th 2012...Aaron...Joe...

the now famous tickets...kept as souvenirs...

Week 35 of 52

            "You don't stop running because you get old. You get old because you stop running"....a quote from the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall...

           I just finished reading 'Born to Run'...what an inspirational book...you don't have to be a runner to enjoy this book...I am by no means a runner...I would like to be a runner...but this old body of mine seems to think differently...as you know I started a Couch to 5k program a few weeks ago and sprained my ankle in week 2...here we are 4 weeks later and my ankle is beginning to feel normal again...

            For years I have wanted a treadmill...I used to run on one at the health club that we once belonged to a few years ago...so here it is Angelas' new toy...I must admit I am a little afraid of starting to run again...but this time I am going to take it very very slow...I think I pushed it too hard last time...what is the hurry...I have the rest of my life to become a runner...

                                          You are never to old to try something new...

Week 34 of 52

            This weeks 52 of 52 wasn't a project but something fun to do....Joe and I spent a few hours at the Minnesota State Fair...we haven't been for a couple of years...we left early after talking to Joes' twin sister Pat...wishing her and Joe a Happy Birthday...here is our day in photos...

                                                                        tickets....

                                                 trolley ride...which we did not do...

                                                    foot long corn dog....mmmmm....

                             my favorite area...the horse barn...still want to learn to ride...

           Dominic Guadious...playing guitar and the diggery doo...still want to learn to
                                                                play the guitar...

                                 Minnesota State Fair flying the British Flag...got to love it...

                                                                   Fun at the fair...

Week 33 of 52

            A couple of days late...

                                    This week I finished the project I started last week..

            I decided to paint the coffee table black...I have a couple of pieces of furniture I would like to refinish with black paint...so this was good practise...


                                           DIARY OF A BEGINNING RUNNER...

            Yeah....it's not going so good...Sunday 5th August...I went out to do my W2D2 and everything was going okay...walking...jogging...walking...jogging...I got home and took my shoes off and that's when I felt the pain...

            I don't recall doing anything to my ankle on my walk/jog...but I could hardly walk...I struggled with it for a few days and finally went to the doctors...after x-rays...and poking and prodding...I was told it was not broken that it is just a sprain...that was the good news...the bad news is that here we are more then two weeks later and I am still in pain...

            Doc also said that when I feel up to it I can start to run again...mmmm...might be a while before I try that again...might stick to walking...and yoga...we will see...

Week 32 of 52

                    Only 20 more weeks to go...I am beginning to have a hard time with this...I look around and see so many things I could be doing...but time and a little bit of laziness on my part is a problem...and if I would stay off Facebook and Pinterest maybe I would get a little more done...but whats the fun in that...Facebook is the only connection I have to some people...especially my family and friends in England...

                     Speaking of Pinterest...I have been reading about a product that has been pinned on Pinterest by numerous people...it is 'Zinssers Cover Stain Primer'...supposedly you can use this on practically any surface without sanding first...

                  We have an old coffee table sitting in our unfinished family room...we acquired it when my Mom came to live with us along with some of her other furniture...it is water stained from watering plants...so with this table being in pretty bad shape I thought I would try this product on it first before I try it on a piece of furniture that I care about...

                   Even though this product said that you didn't need to sand...I choose to sand the top of the table to try to get rid of some of the damage...

                                                As you see it is still looking pretty bad...

                     Here is the table after two coats of this Zinssers primer...you can still see the water damage so I think I will try a third coat before I go to pick out a paint color for this coffee table....

                          Next week I will finish this project with a coat or two of paint...

                  

Week 31 of 52

                           This week Joe has been very busy working on the bedroom floor...it's not quite finished but he has got a good start...he left this morning on a business trip to Cancun...yeah you read that right...Cancun...I'm a little bit jealous...
      

                                                            partially finished floor...

               ...on Friday afternoon we went to the Uptown Art Fair...we haven't been for a couple of years and we found that it has changed a little...didn't seem as good but we think it could have been due the heat we were walking around in...it was just too hot to be enjoyable...so we left and went to the Valley Tap House for beers and appetizer's...

        ...here is an update on the Gladiola that I planted in the spring...they are blooming...

                                                 ...my first attempt at growing Gladiola...

         I'm still working on the Couch to 5k...today I did W2D2...but I came home with a little bit of pain in one ankle...we will have to see where this takes me...maybe these 59 year old joints are just not up to the challenge...but I am not ready to give up yet...