Yummy dinner tonight

We have been trying to have more food variety during the week versus just having pasta and pizza, and tonight on the menu we had broiled salmon and lentils. It was quite good and reasonably healthy.

Clean air in NC

No more smoking in restaurants in North Carolina, it is the law now. I thought that day would never come.

How about some Football?

I met Gerre Goard more than 20 years ago when I lived in Narberth, Pa and I had not seen him for over 18 years until the summer of 2009 when he found me on facebook and realized I only live an hour away. Gerre works for Norfolk Southern and when one of his customers bailed on him late for a spot in their Carolina Panthers hospitality suite, he called me and I got to fill in. :-)

Here are some pics from the day.

About to go in



Welcome to the Panthers



The stadium was still pretty empty when we got there



The view isn't so bad from here and the temperature is alright



These guys were already sitting in the cold 1.5 hours before the game



The players are getting on the field



Intently focused on the game



Host Gerre Goard in front of the spread



Over 60,000 spectators braved the cold



The Panthers won today and closed out their season 8-8



The view from the stadium

Living with a German

Amy was reminded at Christmas that "Living with a German builds character." But that refrigerator magnet did not come from me. :-)

Rawhide

Pete was not forgotten at Christmas time and he got some nice rawhide from his grandma Cheryl. He inspected it for a little while and then he went to work, but it took him quite some time to eat one of of those. He'll get another one tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everybody a very merry Christmas or as we in Germany would say "Froehliche Weihnachten."

Snow, snow and more snow

It snowed quite a bit here yesterday and the amount wouldn't be a big deal in any of the Northern states or in the part of Germany where I grew up. But here in the Southeast of the USA it is always big news and source for trouble. In some parts of town traffic came to a halt and there were lots of accidents. Plus 24 hours later our street still has not been cleared.

We got up early and cleared a path



The MINI Cooper looked a bit sad and lonely



Amy's Subaru required quite a bit of time before we could use it

Ironman Hawaii this weekend

Watch it as the most amazing race unfolds

The great Threadless t-shirt sale

Just in time for the holidays you can get all kinds of great t-shirts from threadless.com for just $10. What is not to like? We must have at least 8 of their shirts in our home already.

Christmas tree

Amy and I set up our very first Christmas tree together and we think it looks pretty good. We worked quite well together on the decoration but I guess it is easy when you have the same taste anyway.

My name is Pete and I am cool

Pete is looking very stylish in his limited edition blueseventy goggles as he is heading to the Central YMCA pool here in Winston-Salem.

Crepes

We had registered for a crepes pan and it took me until now to finally come through with making some crepes. I learned quite a bit with this batch of raspberry cream ones and the next time it'll be easier. By the time I made the last crepe I even managed to flip it.

Thanksgiving in Philadelphia

Amy and I drove to Philadelphia to spend Thanksgiving with my "American family" and to check out the area I used to live in for 10 years. Unfortunately I realized to late that I did not get any pics of my American family, but here are some other pics from that trip.

On the road to Philadelphia



The view towards the art museum



In Vinnie and Beverly's kitchen



The very cute shortstop



One Friday we enjoyed lunch at the farmer market



The Reading Terminal Market is amazing in terms of the food choices



In front of the Franklin Institute



Amy can not get away from medical items. Here she is in front of a huge heart.



We did not take flight in the museum



We truly had a trains, planes and automobiles weekend



I wanted to ride that bike, but it was only available for kids



Amy got friendly with Ben Franklin



On Saturday morning we ran 12 miles on the River Drives and brrr it was cold and windy



After the run we had brunch with Debbie and Olivia



We then watched Vinnie and Beverly's son Stevie (right) play squash



The canal in Manayunk



We enjoyed lunch at Jake's in Manayunk

It is on

Well, the new SRAM Red group is on my Ghisallo now, plus with the new Fizik bartape I am ready to ride it "like I stole it."

Congratulations Jordan and Jill

Congratulations to Jordan Rapp and Jill Savege on getting married yesterday. You guys look spectacular and very happy.

Ready for December 1

With our Advent Calendar Wreath up in our hallway we are ready for December 1. Good thing is that we'll be busy with Thanksgiving the next few days and won't be tempted to eat the chocolates early.

Late Fall in the West End

It is late Fall and I took a few images what the house and the neighborhood looks like with most of the leaves now off the trees.

The leaves are also mostly out the front yard too and the landscaping still looks good



The back of the house with the patio umbrella and the seat cushions tucked safely away.



The clock in Grace Court Park just up the street.



The landscaping still look quite nice in the park too.



Yes, we are in the West End of Winston-Salem

It is all about Red

Yesterday my highly anticipated SRAM Red group arrived and somehow it felt just like Christmas. Each individual item slowly unwrapped from the packaging and then caressed for a while. But unlike Christmas you know before that it is exactly what you want. I already have been very, very happy with SRAM Red on my TT bike and have been looking forward to the same smooth performance on my road bike. Plus that will allow me to easily swap the Quarq powermeter (still to come) between the 2 bikes.

Dead right poem

Read the poem below in a Charles Pelkey story about road rage.

Here lies the body of George O'Day.
He died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right as he rode along,
But he is just as dead as if he were wrong.