Athens weekend

Amy and I went to Athens, Ga over the weekend to see the Athens Twilight Criterium on Saturday night and also to spend a bit of relaxing time there.

It was quite warm there and in the afternoon we had time to just wander around



Kyle Wamsley of Colavita-Sutter and John Murphy of Ouch Racing in action



This video (posted by someone else) shows the throngs of spectators and the speed of the athletes



After a run on Sunday morning we went to the Grit for brunch



Behind the counter inside the Grit is one of Michael Lachowski's Coffee paintings. He painted that Coffee one in 1985, and he made both a Hot Chocolate and a Milk artwork for me in 2004

Introducing Pete

This week we adopted Pete from our friends Paul and Anita. I think they planned on having only 2 dogs but ended up with 4. Pete for example was dropped off at their house 2 years ago for a "couple of weeks" and never picked up again. Pete lost his front right leg after an incident with a car, but he gets around just fine.

Exhausted after the 6 hour transfer from Chattanooga



Hanes Park is just down the hill from us and offers lots of things to see



Wow that walk was tiring



Hello world, I am Pete

Seeing daylight

We still have a few moving boxes to unpack, but most of them are empty now and broken down to be picked up by the movers. The first room to be really finished with setting up was the kitchen, even though we are still awaiting the additional cabinets and countertop. But the cabinets and the fridge are filled and we were able to cook our first meal there. :-)

We love the kitchen, and dislike the dishwasher.



This wedding gift (thank you Deano and Angie) looks perfect here.

My thumb is still quite ugly

Saturday afternoon I closed the car door on my right thumb and it hurt like crazy. 5 days later and the thumb is still quite swollen and sore, plus of course ugly too. This is very helpful in the opening process of the moving boxes.

Getting closer to moving in

Tuesday, April 7 is the big moving day from the Piedmont LeafLofts to the home on Clover Street. Amy and I are both excited and ready to move into our first house that is ours (not mine or yours.) Our contractor Rick Stevens has done a great job with the opening of the kitchen to the dining room and the painting and finishing of several rooms.

The house is a bit easier to see with the leaves not yet up



We will need furniture for the living room.



A look from the living room through the dining room into the kitchen. It is all open now.



Only a few more days and we'll be cooking here.



The new cabinets and the counter top is not yet in place. The table won't stay.



A look over the back deck into the yard from the kitchen window



Upstairs now. A look from the master closet into the master bedroom. Master bath is in the background.



The guest bedroom is currently the only room in the house with some furniture in it.



The guest bathroom.



Amy's office is very bright and has unique window closing hardware

Hello Chattanooga

Tuesday through Thursday we went to Chattanooga as Amy was giving a presentation on Wednesday during a Trauma Symposium. Tuesday night Amy was going to a related dinner and I went to an art exhibit and visited friends, and I have pics of that evening below. Wednesday night Amy and I got to see Martin, Janelle and the 3 cutiepies and then we met Paul and Anita at the Meeting place. Thursday after a quick run and a brief shopping stint we drove back to Winston.


Paul and Anita in front of a random cd cover project



I really liked this selection of dolls



This doll even had a tramp stamp on her butt



Sharon's Asian inspired geometric pottery was very beautiful



George, Paul and Anita (Rick and I) were reunited in Big River



Good friends like these are hard to come by

A quick trip to New Orleans

Last weekend Amy and I flew to New Orleans to visit Laura. It was great to see Laura and of course New Orleans is well worth a trip in itself.

Laura picked us up at the airport and interestingly enough best friends Laura and Amy pretty much were dressed alike



We started our dinner at Frankie & Johnny's with crawfish



This monster Muffaletta sandwich was actually only a half size



Laura stumbled across this Banksy artwork



Beautiful architecture is all over the place



Walking through the French Quarters



The tourists were out in force, a good sign for NOLA tourism



Laura with Hank watching over her



Great stuff, but very expensive

The home update

Our contractor Rick Stevens has worked very hard since yesterday morning and the progress is fantastic. The additional cabinets and the new counter top are ordered and will take a little while, but we should be able to move in our home in the next 2 weeks.

The view from the dining room into the kitchen



The view from the kitchen into the dining room

Hey Hey

Don't you go anywhere

Mmm Milka

Our cat Sylvie is 12 years old and to this day has not eaten out of any one's hand, not even her cat food. I have been tempting her for quite a while with various items, and yesterday I finally succeeded. Sylvie loves Milka chocolate apparently and kept licking and licking and licking until the chocolate in my hand melted.

Apple iPhone versus Blackberry Storm

Neither of these ads is an official one, but each shows quite a bit of passion for the brands.

First came "BlackBerry Shows Apple Who Is The Boss."



The response from Apple fans came not much later.
(although they have a little issue too)

Flowers

Amy's birthday flowers looked very nice yesterday and still do today. But we knew that gifts would not stay nicely wrapped for very long so we snapped a quick reminder pic.

It is your birthday

Happy Birthday Amy

Amy

It is your birthday in only a matter of minutes.

Happy Birthday

The miracles of technology

6 months ago my 73 year old mom didn't even have a computer but I had wanted to get her one for the last couple of years. But while curious, she always had resisted. Before Christmas she finally got herself a laptop, went to a computer course and got an internet connection. We have been emailing back and forth on a regular basis now for about 2 months and it has been great. On the phone sometimes it appears that things get lost in translation, and that actually has nothing to do with me calling from overseas. It is also true for my brothers who call her from Germany or even within town. So the emailing has been perfect in terms of getting all information across.

When I went home recently I installed Skype on her computer and today I had my first Skype phone call with her. I could actually give my mom a video tour of the apartment as we talked. :-)

It is a miracle. Mom, you have come a long way.

Snow in Winston-Salem

It started snowing quite heavily last night and by 6am this morning Winston-Salem was covered by a thick blanket of snow.

After a morning of sunshine the snow is starting to melt



My snow covered Cooper S in the foreground, various RJ Reynolds buildings in the background



A look at the Piedmont Leaf Lofts overpass over 4th Street

Chubby cheeks

Before there was Arnold on Different Strokes, there was Herbert Krabel in Ostrach. :-)
This picture was taken the first year in Kindergarten.

Black Mountain Marathon

A few months ago I signed up for the Black Mountain Marathon in Black Mountain, NC because I had not yet done a trail marathon. Luck had it that I not only signed up for one of the most scenic trail marathons, but also one of the hardest. I have been running quite a bit this winter so I felt decently prepared, although here in Winston-Salem we do not have good uphill running available unless you drive. With 5,340 feet of climbing in the Black Mountain Marathon to the 13 mile turnaround point I would get plenty of climbing in during the race and we all know that what goes up, must come down. Lots of rain and cool temps on the top promised an epic day.

The calm before the storm. It is nice and dry in the hotel room.



Trying to stay dry under an awning with Jonathan Kelly (also Winston-Salem)



A few minutes before the start and it looks wet.



Amy was at the turnaround checkpoint and it was great seeing a friendly, familiar face. She caught me sucking down an e-Gel.



I crossed the line in 4:15:05 and was happy with this result in very tough conditions. The puddles in the grass are an indication of what the trails looked like.