Weather

It's 6 am and still dark outside. That can't be a good sign.

Teenagers.

Today I feel baffled. anxious . guilty. sad. perplexed. I am hopeful, and yet hold no hope for short term change. I am worried about the long term, and at the same time I am confident that in the long term, all will be well.

"Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree".

I feel like that today.

FloMo has no Elvis in It

Flower Mound and Lewisville both have some great, easily accessible trails for bike riding. I've used one trail in Flower Mound to get from my house to Sprouts, Krogers and the FM Library. It's a beautiful trail, for as long as it lasts, but isn't used much by anyone other than kids going to and from school, and the occassional "down to business" walker or jogger. Unfortunately to get to the stores/library I have to ride a fair distance down 1171, on a small sidewalk, against traffic. Today I tried getting to Sprouts by taking Morriss Rd to see if it was any different. The first half of the ride was on a TINY sidewalk that is right next to the very busy street. The second half was on a wider sidewalk, but I had to cross Morriss at College to get to it. The southbound sidewalk ends just past College.

The bottom line : Seemed like it took just as long to get to Sprouts on Morriss, and I was riding with lots of cars/noise/junk in the air. I'll stay with the bike trail and the ride up 1171.

I came back up to College, turned on Timbercreek and picked up the trail that goes east though Lewisville.

This trail is a really nice one that follows a creek for a good part of it. I followed this trail as far as I could, and still didn't get to the end. I saw people walking dogs, people out walking with their kids, people who stopped to chat with other people. I saw plenty of curb your dog signs and supplies for clean up. I saw people running, frisbee golfers, people riding bikes in street clothes rather than their Lance Armstrong costumes, people who stopped to watch the birds ... In general, L'ville seemed to have an abundance (and variety) of people out enjoying a weekday morning with no agenda. Kind of a city feel in what I still think of as a town - a large one - but still a town...

Life with an 8 year old boy...

Free at Last

Well, I've cleverly arranged a week (next week) where I will be free. #1 son will be at camp, and tutor kids will be off on other adventures. So far, I have a date to go to the Rangers day game on Thursday, and I will spend an hour or two at work planning for class in the fall. Other than that, I have no plans. What would you do with such a week?

French.

I took french classes in school from 7th grade through my freshman year at college. My french teacher (Sister Annette/"Ma Soeur Annette") sponsored trips to France during my sophomore and junior years in high school. We went to Tours, the Loire Valley, and Paris the first visit, and just got to spend a week in Paris on the second. Given the chance of a redo, I might have tried to major in French. Or Russian.

Growing up in NY, knowing French was sort of useful because there were a lot of French Canadians that lived in the area, and New Yorkers of French descent. In Texas, not so much.

Check out the French word of the day widget....

Amusez-vous tous!

New Music

The Diner question a few days back was "What are the last five songs you have purchased?"

Before I left for my trip, I knew I needed some new tunes for the shuffle... So, here's what I purchased (the long list)

1. Your Long Journey (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss)

There have been several unlikely duets recently (Mark Knopfler and Emmy Lou Harris just didn't work for me...) , but these two are great.

2. I Love You and Budda Too (Mason Jennings)

This song could be the Unitarian's anthem, but I love Mason Jennings.

3. Pocketful of Sunshine (Natasha Bedingfield)

Great beat, great uplifting song. It should suffer from enormous overplay this summer.

4. Gold Digger (Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx)

I have to giggle over the use of the word "featuring" on duets and collaborations these days. Jamie Foxx channels Ray Charles and takes huge liberty with his song "I Got a Woman". The message is distressing, but may paint a pretty accurate picture of relationships in America today, but when I need something to get me moving and keep me going, kanye delivers....

5. Prickly Thorn but Sweetly Worn (The White Stripes)

I don't like everything they do, but I like this one.

6. My Moon, My Man (Feist)

7. So Lonley (The Police)

8. The Bed's Too Big Without You (The Police)

Always liked the early ska tunes from The Police. Most of their later stuff I've had my lifetime fill of...

9. If I Never See your Face Again (Maroon 5 feat. Rihanna)

There it is again.... "featuring".....

10. Realize (Colby Callait)

A really sweet song, that makes me think of my hubby...

11. Stonger (Kanye West)

See #4. It's an addiction.

12. I Will Possess your Heart (Death Cab)

Dedicated to my senior math class (Ryan, Alyssa, Preston, Annie, Blake). They forbade me to change the station when this song came on during our trip to Chilis....

Ok, there you have it!

25 years ago... Sheesh.

Ok, reunion was great fun and I am so glad I went!

Christine picked us up at the airport. On the drive to her home, we passed Shea Stadium and the Citi Field (the new Mets ballpark).
















We went to Chris' lake house in the Poconos.

















Amy and Chris on the boat dock.

















We did actually go to the reunion...

Denise trying on used BU Cheerleader gear. She played basketball for 4 years, but I think she really missed her calling!





















Chris, Kirk, Amy, Joan, Jeff

















Checking out "The Slum" (our senior year dream home)

















Heading to the Class Dinner - Amy, Joan, Amy, Jeff, Chris, Theresa
















Katie, Mary and Dave




















Helen and Jeff