Next week is the Air Force-Navy Half Marathon. The first of back to back weekend races. Next weekend's race is Saturday and then I will head to Ottawa the following weekend for the Canadian Army Half. That will be a fun weekend since Martika will also be running a race that weekend, a 5k. It will be a challenge to do back to back weekend half marathon races but I am liking forward to it and I plan to have fun.
ISHI - Japanese for DETERMINATION. Some would say I am stubborn - others opinionated - but in reality it is determined. I believe it is determination that got me through the challenges I have faced and allowed me to start this new and wonderful life. I will stay determined and we will have as much fun as we can along the way. Read along for the wonderful adventure.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
A Great Birthday Long Weekend ...
Now everyone in my family may not agree with that opening title as I was sick with a stomach bug for 4 of the past 5 days BUT none the less I had a great birthday as I leap into my last year of the decade.
The week itself started out great with Kris getting her citizenship finalized .... FINALLY. But that also may have been the day when I contracted whatever it was I had. We had lunch at a sandwich shop that we have been to many times but by my birthday Wednesday I was not feeling great. I did wake up to some beautiful sunflowers and a gift of a great bottle of port. Not that I would have the port for breakfast but .... no I did not.
Since I was not feeling great the girls waited until Thursday to cook me a great meal. And they really did all the cooking. Grilled lamb chops, some with fresh rosemary and others jerked; fresh asparagus and; sweet potato fries. It was delicious. Laura topped it all off with a nice carrot cake - always my favourite. They also treated me to some new hot sauces, I am well stocked now, some of my favourite chocolates and Kris and Sam found me some plates that I just love. It was a great evening but not the end of my birthday celebrations .... according to my wife.
On Friday morning I was told to have an overnight bag packed. Laura came home early and we grabbed our bags and got in the car and she said we were heading to Paris! Ok, what she really said was head towards Upperville and we ended up in Paris, Va. In Paris there is a little inn called the Ashby Inn. It is somewhere Laura and I have been reading about for a couple of years and wanted to try so she booked us a night at the Schoolhouse there and reserved a table at their famous restaurant. It was good fortune to that she did it for this birthday as their chef, who has really revived the restaurant, is leaving shortly. We had a great meal, nice cocktails, good food and good wine, on the outdoor patio overlooking the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains.
The next morning, a nice sleep and a great breakfast at the restaurant. Everything was great.
A big thank you to my girls for cooking a great meal, and cleaning up after, and of course to my wonderful wife who helped them out with organizing things and with cleaning up and of course with
setting up another wonderful birthday trip to a fantastic local inn with great local chefs.
The week itself started out great with Kris getting her citizenship finalized .... FINALLY. But that also may have been the day when I contracted whatever it was I had. We had lunch at a sandwich shop that we have been to many times but by my birthday Wednesday I was not feeling great. I did wake up to some beautiful sunflowers and a gift of a great bottle of port. Not that I would have the port for breakfast but .... no I did not.
Since I was not feeling great the girls waited until Thursday to cook me a great meal. And they really did all the cooking. Grilled lamb chops, some with fresh rosemary and others jerked; fresh asparagus and; sweet potato fries. It was delicious. Laura topped it all off with a nice carrot cake - always my favourite. They also treated me to some new hot sauces, I am well stocked now, some of my favourite chocolates and Kris and Sam found me some plates that I just love. It was a great evening but not the end of my birthday celebrations .... according to my wife.
On Friday morning I was told to have an overnight bag packed. Laura came home early and we grabbed our bags and got in the car and she said we were heading to Paris! Ok, what she really said was head towards Upperville and we ended up in Paris, Va. In Paris there is a little inn called the Ashby Inn. It is somewhere Laura and I have been reading about for a couple of years and wanted to try so she booked us a night at the Schoolhouse there and reserved a table at their famous restaurant. It was good fortune to that she did it for this birthday as their chef, who has really revived the restaurant, is leaving shortly. We had a great meal, nice cocktails, good food and good wine, on the outdoor patio overlooking the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains.The next morning, a nice sleep and a great breakfast at the restaurant. Everything was great.A big thank you to my girls for cooking a great meal, and cleaning up after, and of course to my wonderful wife who helped them out with organizing things and with cleaning up and of course with
setting up another wonderful birthday trip to a fantastic local inn with great local chefs.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Happy 49 Honey!!!!
I hope that this year brings the many successes that you deserve. It seems that no matter what happens you are always there smiling with arms open, cooking pans ready, and encouraging words giving comfort to all of us that everything will be okay. I truly believe that you can fix anything (even crashing curtains in NFLD), BBQ a rock and make it taste good, build a Jeep in closet space blindfolded while smoking cigars and and drinking bourbon............and most importantly make us smile, make us feel loved, makes us feel important, make us family. I love you and I want this to be your year ! Laura
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Citizen Kris
Today Kristen had her formal naturalization ceremony. She, along with 48 others, officially became US Citizens. It is always interesting to attend these ceremonies. Along with the Canadian Kris there were people from Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Germany, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua. Nigeria, Pakistan. Russia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, The United Kingdom, Vietnam and Yemen.
It was great to see all the exited people and parents.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
One of the nicest ...
This is one of the nicest recent pictures of Mom & Dad. They were celebrating an early 50th anniversary with some of Dad's sisters who came back home to visit
Sending lots of love
Sending lots of love
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Some pictures from our trip to Newfoundland ...
Click on the text below the picture and it should take you to the full album
Monday, July 8, 2013
July 4th Weekend
We extended ourJuly 4th weekend a little bit.
We started the weekend with our new neighbours and a smoked leg of lamb on Wednesday evening.
On the 4th the girls were over and we grilled some burgers and hot dogs and I made a cake for everyone. Friday we were both off and we spent the day relaxing - a great picnic at Barrel Oak Winery for lunch and a nice quiet afternoon.
Saturday we went out for a nice relaxing afternoon kayak on the Occoquan Reservoir and finished off the weekend with some homemade pizza - including homemade pizza sauce. It was a great long weekend and we have a few pictures to share.
We started the weekend with our new neighbours and a smoked leg of lamb on Wednesday evening.
On the 4th the girls were over and we grilled some burgers and hot dogs and I made a cake for everyone. Friday we were both off and we spent the day relaxing - a great picnic at Barrel Oak Winery for lunch and a nice quiet afternoon.
Saturday we went out for a nice relaxing afternoon kayak on the Occoquan Reservoir and finished off the weekend with some homemade pizza - including homemade pizza sauce. It was a great long weekend and we have a few pictures to share.
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| Smoked Lamb Pizza |
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| Laura in Old Town Mannassas |
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