We are fortunate to be visiting family for a very special occasion- the 100th birthday celebration of Grandma Esther. For the occasion, Pam and Doug hosted a festive celebration, with family and friends gathering at their home to celebrate. Her youngest guest, not quite one year old, was small Sam, who dressed in his best for the occasion.
Gabi greeting the guests.
Father and daughter conversation.
We took the opportunity- everyone showered and wearing swank clothing- to take some group photos.
This post is for those interested in bicycle geekery and data tracking. Although I'll see if I can sneak in a picture of a cute baby as well. What would a blog post be without one.
It's also for Grandpa Doug, who very kindly gifted me with an awesome new bicycle computer at Christmas time. This thing does it all but turn the pedals for you. Simple things like speed, time, elapsed time. Cycling specific stuff like cadence. Heart rate monitor. With the addition of GPS, it handles routing as well as display grade.
I've been playing with it while pedaling on the trainer inside. This morning was sunny, gorgeous... and 20 degrees F. Inside again.
Fortunately, I have some video distractions. I've been watching the recon video of the 2009 L'Etape du Tour, an organized ride that lets you try out one of the stages of the Tour de France. In 2009 the route included the Giant of Provence, Mount Ventoux. The recon video produced by Cyclefilm was filmed in the autumn of 2008 and the scenery is just gorgeous. Makes it a little easier to bear pedaling in place, inside.
I've got a half-dozen or so rides on the computer, here is just a small bit of the data from the computer:
As you can see, I need to tweak the cadence sensor. I was actually pedaling the whole time but it seems to drop out as I go along. The display would also show a map of my route, but since I wasn't actually moving (save for through the hills of Provence in my mind's eye) I took that bit out. I'm looking forward to using the computer once I actually hit the roads this spring.
My sister and her family visited for a few days this week, making the unusual- and appreciated- choice to drive north from Atlanta during their spring break to cold Cleveland instead of the beach.
Sammy has been helping out at home this week, and asked if I could please share these photos.
We do a lot of laundry at our house, so it's a good thing Sam does his bit. That stuff doesn't fold itself, you know.
After a diaper delivery, Sammy thought that maybe we could just box him up and send him to Grandma Pam, please? I think there's room for Jasmine Buttercup too.
We've been roughing it easy in Cleveland for the past week as Snowmageddon descended on half the country.
Sunday we went out and enjoyed some sunshine. Here are Sam and his mule, kicking and gliding through the woods:
The two of us tried on Christmas presents too- Bill in new waders, Sam in a vest sent from his Aunt Teri. Now all we need is the trout. And clearly, I'm showing him the proper way to dress whilst angling: necktie and waders. Dry flies. Upstream only, please.
And early in the week, our aged refrigerator gave up the ghost. After a day or two of shopping we picked out a replacement... which won't be delivered until next week. So I've channeled my grandparents and converted the refrigerator into an ice box. Plenty of raw materials to be had outside, so every day or so I hack out a chunk from the driveway or an icicle from the eaves and it keeps the temperature in the mid-30s in the very large cooler.
