Why are we here again?

Snow days used to mean something...

Today, most of the rest of the metro area students and school staff were home, probably still snug in their beds while I was running for the bus. We had to be different. We had to come to campus. Yippee.

Early snow = snack

Got to go home early today, even though the roads are still just damp around here. I had one snowball on the way to the art store, but they're much better with the traditional New England topping. Yup, frozen water and maple syrup - New Englanders are weird.

Tailwind day/zombie night

The day started with our usual bluebird skies and a warm breeze. I was lucky that my errands took me to the southern reaches of town, because I got to race with the leaves nearly all the way there. I like the sound they make as they skitter down the road. Obviously, the ride back north wasn't quite so pleasant, but it was still a great day to be out.

I made a sort of last-minute decision to join the fourth annual Denver Zombie Crawl in the evening (sometimes it's handy to have a spare zombie outfit and zombie date laying around). I thought the zombie's last day out was last Halloween, but since the occasion asked for zombies in particular, I figured I could haul him out of the garage one more time. Besides, he craves the attention, in addition to brains. The evening did not disappoint.

We lingered by the clock tower on the 16th Street mall, admiring makeup techniques, sampling jello brains and practicing screaming, then it was time to lurch...



The shuttle passengers were a bit startled at first, but then they just started taking pictures of the zombies pawing at the windows.

It was a family affair. Yeah, that's zombie Spiderman over there.

Walking the Mall, even at zombie pace, can be exhausting, so snacks are a good idea.

If you can think of it, it can be zombified. Along with the political set shown above, I saw one of the Teletubbies, Ironman, a slew of pirates, lots of prom dates like myself, Jesus, Bob Ross, several wedding parties, and little kid zombies, too.

My zombie prom date elicited the usual range of reactions, from "Aw, he's cute" to "Holy s**t, what is that thing?" He also had his picture taken a couple dozen times, so it'll be interesting to see where he ends up online. I have no photos of him for now, till I get one from one of my coworkers, who was also in zombie attire tonight.

Aside from the slightly blistered feet, it was a great night and I think I might go again next year. It's fun to find yourself in the middle of a crowd of creative and excited people that really get into the spirit of the event. Best moment of the night? A diner sitting by the window of Johnny Rockets, teasingly waving a french fry at a couple of zombies who leaned over the patio railing and flailed their arms in longing. And the cry of the evening...

"What do we want?"
"Brains!"
"When do we want them?"
"Nnrrgh..."

A taste of childhood

I used to chew on birch twigs as a kid. I think it must be a New England thing.

What I did on my summer vacation - Part 2

Got together with some old friends for a 4th of July wedding.
The bride (center) has been one of my best friends since the third grade.

Worked hard creating 30+ flower arrangements in the garage.

The happy couple. Note that this one of the few days it didn't rain in New England this summer.

We ate well. These desserts followed the catered BBQ from Bub's and a whole lot of them followed me home at the end of the night.

We burned off a few bites of cheesecake playing croquet, whiffle ball and volleyball. I found croquet is a lot like Uno. It can go on forever or be over in the blink of an eye. Becky killed us in this round.

A beautiful weekend.

24+ hours in Moab (a working vacation)

My fall escape from work was prompted by Eszter's entry into the 24-hour race in Moab this month. She'd never tried a 24-hour race and I'd never worked support for one, but it sounded like a good time. The drive out was gorgeous and it was nice to be reminded that I live in a damned fine state, even if I don't get out to see it much.

Even the rest stops along the highway are nice.

I know taking pictures while driving is very bad, but sometimes I just have to.

Utah, however, always blows me away. Each time I take the shortcut through Castle Valley, I ask myself why I haven't been back sooner.

Sunset behind the tents

A moment of calm before the race

It was good to see more than the usual spandex

If you look very carefully beyond this lady's arm, you can just about make out Eszter both running and smiling. The Le Mans start kicked up quite the dust cloud.

Our work started about an hour and a half later, when we prepped food/gu/drinks and other necessities for the end of the first lap. We'd repeat the process about twelve more times over the next day. During the down time, we ate, drank, cheered on other riders and, very rarely, napped. All that time, Eszter kept riding.

About seven hours on, the sun began to set

The evening required a consistent campfire for warmth, techno music and glow sticks for dancing, various types of alcohol and caffeine for motivation (ours, not Eszter's) and lots of yelling for the riders as they passed. Our neighbors carved these nice pumpkins.

It was a long night. I don't think I've ever been so aware of the time. I went for a walk at one point to see the train of lights coming down the hill as they approached the start/finish, and it was almost entrancing. Eszter later said that the view from the top looking down on the tents and campfires was just as cool.

There were some good checkins ("the course is so much cooler in the dark") and some not-so-good ones (I actually missed these), but she just kept going and had second place locked in when I finally ran back to my tent for a 90 minute nap at sunrise. When I got up, I was told that the leader had dropped out after going too hard on the early laps and Eszter was now going to win! Now that's motivation to wake up. She even got to pull out early after being reassured that the girl who had been chasing her all night was suffering and only wanted to complete one last lap at a more reasonable pace. Just before 10 am, we ran over to the finish to meet her and tell her the good news.

The fantastic crew: Carrie, Vallie, Beth, Zoo-bear (sorry), Greg, Sarah, Chris and RC

Tired, but happy...note the drink of (national) champions to her right. When this picture was taken, she said she would never do a 24-hour race again. As of today, she's already rethinking that decision. Silly, crazy, super-fast girl.

The great spud experiment

So in the spring, I hastily threw together a raised bed of relatively blah soil, thinking I would fill it with potatoes. This would make me look like I was finally paying attention to that corner of my plot and it would keep the potatoes out of the way.


I planted about nineteen pieces, probably a bit too close together, and hoped for the best. Today was spud-pulling day.


The final count, including the ones I've already mashed or roasted, is about a gallon's worth. Purples were the tough guys, white ones were nearly missing, and the red variety turned out somewhat mushy.


Would I do it again? Probably not. The flavor isn't spectacular, and I kind of wish I had thrown in a few winter squash instead. The wire fencing around the bed, however, yielded some pretty impressive morning glories (some have "trunks" as thick around as my thumb).

In other harvest news, every one of the thirty or so zucchini has now been consumed, put in cake form, or shredded and frozen for later baking. Whew. Cukes are also gone. Beets await canning, but, fortunately, they're patient. Most of the few tomatoes my plants put out are resting in their ripening crate in the kitchen, still rock hard and bright green. While a few leaves were blackened Thursday night, true, killing frost has not yet struck. Any day now...