Spring and things

A perfect sunrise on our sleepy street

The photo above doesn't do the sunrise justice.  It really was awe inspiring.  Inspiring enough that I absolutely needed to scoop the boy-child up (toothbrush still in his mouth) and hustle him out into the yard so we wouldn't miss it. 

Other news around the yard: 

There are fresh cut daffodils on my mother's table

The hyacinths are nearly blooming

The entire backyard is a slippery, slimy mud puddle....don't even think about going out there

Group runs have begun to gear up for the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey (did I mention this run was on my bucket list)

I started knitting a pair of fingerless gloves, judging by my current pace they'll be ready just in time for next winter

I've been reading some pretty good books

Swim lessons are in full swing

Corelli's Mandolin

Corelli's Mandolin written by Louis de Bernieres (1994)

A historical, world war II novel set on the island Cephallonia.  It is the story of the native Greeks and the German and Italian occupation of their island.  At least in my education, this part of the war was glossed over.  I don't recall anything about the massacre of Italian troops by the Germans in 1943.  It was interesting to me to read about other countries' involvements in the war (other than the Americans).

The main characters are:
Dr Iannis, Pelagia's father, and the unofficial island's Dr.  He spends the majority of his life trying to write the history of the island but his views and personal opinions keep sneaking into the manuscript.  In the end, Pelagia finishes it for her father.

Pelagia is not the average island girl.  She is well educated and has hopes of being a doctor someday.  The book details the two loves of her life, Mandras and Antonio Corelli.



Perhaps one of the more famous monologues from the book is Dr Iannis' attempt to describe love to his daughter.  The difference between love and lust.

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.



I enjoyed this book mostly because it had the right mix of humor and tragedy.  War is hard.  It seems in times of war, people life more fully and passionately, since you never know what tomorrow will bring.  I might not re-read it as often as To Kill A Mockingbird or Brave New World, but this book is definitely going on my favorites list.


p.s. The movie was good, but I felt like it lacked the majority of the emotional ties of Pelagia to her father, Mandras and Captain Corelli.

My own personal coach

I can't tell if Shasta is cheering me on or mocking me.

I must say that staring into these reflective eyes is starting to freak me out.  And more than once the cat has tried to walk across the top of the treadmill, lost her footing, and got tangled up in my feet as I ran.

 























That shelf was NOT built just for Shasta.  It was special requested for a little fan to keep me cool and to hold my amazing 3rd place running trophy from Lake Tahoe last year.

I am trying out a new training schedule this year.  It has me running three times a week.  I'm hoping to get a consistent number of weekly miles under my belt and speed up my pace a little.

I've got a couple of good, organized runs in my future that I'm pretty excited about.

I love to hate the snow

When it starts snowing outside and I'm sitting at my desk at work, chances are I will start to cry.  Not really.  But I want to.  I will spend the rest of the time alternating between looking out the window praying the snow will stop or checking my email to see if they've called a snow day yet.  It makes me wish I had my own personal driver who would shuttle me to and from work so I don't have to worry about slippery roads, four wheel drive, or other crazy drivers.


Truth be told, I enjoy the snow.  I enjoy it most from the warmth of my favorite Nintendo chair parked by the fireplace.  But, I do enjoy playing in it as long I have the appropriate warm, waterproof gear on.


Excited enough to dive over the hand rail just to get in the snow



We took the kids to a little hill in Truckee for some good old-fashioned, free exercise and fun.

The boy at the bottom, Bobbo climbing back up

















After a while, the children claimed they couldn't possibly make it back to the top of the hill because they were so so tired.  Good thing we brought the Daddy!



The Lost Posts

I have been slacking on my knitting updates.  Truth be told, I've been slacking on my knitting.  I have a couple of projects in mind and can't wait to get started on them.  Until then, here are a few I have done in the past couple months.

The first thing I've ever crocheted....Yoda

Booties for my nephew.  I wanted them to have little duck button on them but I couldn't find any like I had in mind.  I kind of like the frogs though.

We made washcloths for the librarians for Christmas.  This one was mine.

And the reason I have been such a slacker lately is that the sister-in-laws and I spent 6 months making a crazy quilt for our mother-in-law.  Here it is, not quite finished.