Summer in Erie

An update for all of our faithful readers :-). There is some big news to report...but first a quick note on where we are and what we're up to...

Lynnsey and I came back to the US of A on 5 August a couple of weeks in advance of Lynnsey's planned return (today 8/20 :-), now 9/29 :-)...see Lynnsey's blogs on our trip home). I needed to be Stateside in order to apply for my extended stay visa at the British Consulate in New York so we decided to come back together. It turned out to be a fortuitous decision as I was subsequently drafted to co-manage a project at the "Mother Ship." Its a cool project and August in Erie has been a big step up from summer in England (believe it or not :-)). More importantly it's meant that I got a couple of extra weeks at home with Lynns which has been GRRrreat.

I was in the mix for the annual MS Regatta which landed on my dad's birthday this year. We won, again :-). Not bad considering its the only race we contest all year. Funny story a couple of days after the regatta my dad's buddy, Doug Beers, heard some fellow competitors on a boat in a neighboring slip commenting on our performance. Seems there were some sour grapes to the effect that "either their rating (sailing handicap) is wrong or the timer on the committee boat is wrong because there is no way that PEDESTRIAN CREW could have gone that fast." :-) Just to set the record straight our crew is VETERAN, not pedestrian, and has never finished worse than 3rd :-) Kudos again to Gary, Greg, Mike and Vance for another superior performance.

Being back has also meant mornings at Greg's torture cell aghhem! I mean Peak Personal Fitness studio :-). I'm getting close to fighting form again after I was ruined by my fight with Toblerone addiction and the Brit Bitters. I had my bike rebuilt over the weekend and hit the 'ninsula for 40K on Sunday...let's just say I could feel the 3 bikeless months on my way back home up Sterretania Rd :-). But hey as Greg would say: "suck it up, pepper." Looking forward to the Presque Isle Tri this weekend (especially the run :-)) and to a couple of late season races in the UK (stay tuned to the blog for more).

Well now that I'm getting back to this post at the end of September (argh) I can update you on the Presque Isle Tri. For those of you not familiar with triathlon its really a competition that alternates between 4 timed events: swimming (700yds)--clothes changing--biking(13mi)--clothes changing--running(3.5mi). The tri starts with the swim and transition (clothes changing) area at Beach 6 at PI.

With all the craziness of setting up camp in the UK I hadn't seen a pool for 4 months (let alone dipped my toes in open water) and hadn't seen my bike for 3. So opening the door of Lynnsey's Pathfinder to the sound of roaring surf gave me a bit of the butterflies...but you tell yourself its never as bad as it sounds.... We got my gear all set up in transition (I'm not the best triathlete by a long shot but Lynnsey is definitely the best Pit Chief in the business) and I decided to stroll over the dunes to take a look. You tell yourself its never as bad as it sounds...until you see it...6 ft waves...rrruuhh ro...and tell yourself it isn't as bad as it looks...until the head life guard (who swam across the lake), Bob North, gets on the megaphone and tells you it IS as bad and pleads with you not to get in the water. I must admit I probably should have listened to the little voice telling me it was possible to surrender with honor...but I'm glad I didn't. Somehow I dog paddled my way through and actually had a great run at 19:26 5k pace (my PR was 18:36 as a 17 year old harrier). It was a great time and I vowed to come back next year as an improved swimmer to compete for my age group :-).

Lynnsey does a better job of telling the story of how we met and fell in love than I do (she's a much better writer among other things - see her blog on Uncle Bob about the greatest aviator of our times :-)) but I do want to say a quick word. One of the big reasons we are still together in spite of the long geographic distance between us is the very short distance between who we are and want to be together. Most important, Lynnsey understands the creative nutcase side of me most people never see. And she shows her love with actions (instead of just words) by investing everything she has, is and does into our relationship. Those of you who have had the privilege of checking out her blogs on Uncle Bob and her crafting blog http://whichcrafty.blogspot.com have seen a glimpse of what I'm blabbering about :-).

So without any further ado...the big news you've all been waiting for...drum roll...I know, I'm a cheese head...drum roll...bombs away...Lynnsey and I are ENGAGED!!! The big hitching is set for June 21, 2008 at my parent's place in Fairview. Anyone reading this will be invited so mark your calendars!

Jim, if you read this, many thanks again from both of us for your engagement gift and for all that you've done.

Ryan hates cats...

Or so he told me the very first time we spoke. I remember thinking to myself that this guy was probably not gonna be my type. He was talking about running and how he "hated cats" and he sounded like a health nut (I am sooo a steak nut, a reading a book nut, all kinds of nuts...except a health nut). He did have some other interesting aspects, though, so I thought I'd give him a chance.

We went out to dinner a couple of nights later and hit it off. Six hours, a bottle of wine, a couple cups of coffee, and a swarm of Jehovah's Witnesses later he kissed me...and then asked if he could. That's not even the best part. Wait for it...The next day when a friend at work was asking about my date, I realized that we'd hit it off so well that I had no idea what his last name was!

Obviously, I figured it out (an interesting story for another time perhaps).

Anyways, being owned by three cats, I was concerned about his "hating cats." All guys say they hate cats. This one is lying...

If your audio isn't all that great, he is in fact saying "flying kitty coming in for a landing." I missed the airplane noises on the way through the living room. He's also been quoted as saying that, "Gracie is the greatest pilot of our time."

I'm glad he hates cats.

Keeping Busy

For those of you out there who were unsure about this, let me tell you. Being an ocean away from the person you love SUCKS! (I know, I know...that's not a very lady-like word, but little else properly describes the situation) While I realize that it's not 1630 and there's email and Skype and text messaging and cell phones and what have you, it still sucks. So, I'm trying to keep busy.

In keeping busy, I finally finished quilting the T-shirt quilt. Really, like an hour ago.


Backstory: While Ryan was packing up the first time to go to England, he ended up with that pile of T-shirts that we all probably have. The ones you don't wear, but you can't get rid of. My pile is much smaller, but it does exist. Anyways, he was contemplating just getting rid of them when I suggested making a quilt out of them. He seemed surprised that it could be done (this was before he knew what I was capable of...ha!). I'm not one hundred percent certain he understood exactly what I meant to do with them, but he went along with it. I sent pictures of the progress to him when he was first in England. He thought it was great, thought I was great.


This is a daunting task, though. Someone you care about hands you their favorite t-shirts and you cut them into small pieces and sew them back together. There's a certain EEK! factor to that alone. You drink heavily and then you quilt the whole thing (with help from your cats).

So, now the hard parts are done. I think. I have to bind the edges and wash it to get rid of the lines I drew for quilting (and the cat hair!).

He'd better leave some room in his suitcase next time he comes back. He's going to have to fit a quilt and a sweater in there! I'm doing my part to warm up the UK!

Never Knit Your Man a Sweater...

There's a curse among knitters all over the world (well, there's more than one, but now's really not the time...). Basically, you like a guy. Knitters are natural givers, so you knit him a sweater. You put in a lot of time, effort, and love. You give him the sweater, and HE LEAVES. Not only does he leave, but he takes your great sweater with him.

So, (female) knitters have implemented a rule. "Never knit your man a sweater unless you've got the ring." It's actually the title of a book. The book has all kinds of other things you can knit your beau...scarves, hats, gloves, blankets, beer cozies (I don't really know if that's in there, but I have seen them!), socks, even a vest. But NO sweaters.

I told Ryan about this a long time ago. I even showed him the book to prove that I'm not totally crazy. He respected this rule. He stole my brown alpaca hat. I made him a blue (suitably manly) scarf. He didn't push (too much) about a sweater.

Now his time has come. I have ordered yarn and new needles (darn...had to buy more needles, terrible thing, that), and found a pattern. Because...






= Sweater!

7th Grade Pizza

Today was the conclusion of the famous 7th Grade Pizza. Hearts were broken. Chicken was barbecued. Yeast was baked at high temperatures.

What?

My first class of the day is what they call "7th Grade Rotation." I have approximately 30 days to teach a dozen and a half 12-year-olds everything they need to know about everything and then they go to art or shop or whatever and I get a new batch (they're like Gremlins, don't get them wet!).

In the course of this class I have learned who the three most popular 7th grade teachers are, because they get the most pizza. It's become a highly coveted prize. Last year's Walmart Teacher of the Year was the only person (besides me, of course...they loooove me) to receive a piece.

This year's first rotation made their dough yesterday and cooked their pizza today. It was good. It helped make my week a lot better all of a sudden. It's been at least a year since Ryan left (and by year, I mean 5 days) and I've had a crap week (whoops...year). They did a good job. It helped...a little...it's a start.

This class is a source of constant amusement. Things I have already learned from 7th graders...

* "I wouldn't buy her a gift until we were married."

* "You can't date your friend's sister." But the girl their friend is "in love" with is okay.

* "The boy should pay (when you're out to dinner)."

* You can burn Velveeta cheese in a microwave if you try hard enough.

* Their favorite subject is lunch.

* Most of them would rather be wise than rich...because they figure they could make money that way.

* They're really bad at Charades.

* They think Hoss's is a fancy restaurant.

* They're excited to cook eggs...and bacon...and French toast. Really excited.

* They help start my day...them and two cups of caffeine.