Slice of Life Tuesday: Daily Walk

Every day I take Dave for a morning walk around the neighborhood. This is our little Slice of Life. We try to go early on days that will be especially hot and we go later on cool days. Today was a cool day, but I put on a hoodie and we started out around 9:00.  Here is a snapshot of our usual walk.

Our first stop was on the corner where these lovely flowers are growing. I don't know what kind they are, but they are beautiful right now.  Dave thought he should check them out and smell them.

Our next stop was at the end of a street where there is a big field. They just cut the wheat that was planted there and Dave likes to do some sniffing there, too.  We have seen a black squirrel in one of the nearby trees and there are always some rabbits for Dave to try to chase.

As we turn and go east on the street we come to an area that has lots of vacant lots and houses in the process of being built. Dave likes to find sticks or pieces of lumber in this area. Sometimes he brings them home with him.

Every week our local paper puts out a paper full of ads.  This is for the people who not subscribe to the local paper. After a couple days of seeing that paper just sitting on the driveway, he decides it is time to clean up the neighborhood. He grabs that paper and takes it home to put it in the recycling.  He is such a good neighbor dog.

We love our morning walks and enjoy the time outside and time spent together.  What are some of your daily rituals?

Saturday Celebration: Training Time

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Saturdays in the summer are training days for me.  This is the day that my husband and I set aside time to do our big training run.  A few weeks ago we did our first race of the year.  It was 6.2 miles or 10K. We have run that race for 20+ years in Atlanta on the 4th of July with 60,000 runners! The race starts at Lennox Square and goes to Piedmont Park. One of the miles on the race is the actual mile that the Olympic runners ran when the Olympics were in Atlanta. The race is fun with many bands and other musical groups encouraging the runners with their music. That is the kick off of our summer running.

Before the race this year.

Today my celebration is running the training run this morning. At the beginning of the summer, we started off our training by running two miles in our neighborhood. When we felt good at that pace and could run the whole thing we jumped it up to four miles and ventured out of the neighborhood onto other city streets. Last week we did that four miles with no walking and felt great. So, today we decided to add another miles to our run.  We drove the route to be sure we had the mileage correct and then started off.  It was hot, but we had set out water, so we were fine. We made the whole five miles, but had to walk up a hill, so we will continue to do this course until we are ready to add another mile.

Last year's Fort 4 Fitness 4-miler

Our ultimate goal is to run the Fort 4 Fitness race in September. This year we are signed up to do the 10k (6.2 miles). Last year we did our first Fort 4 Fitness race with the 4-mile run. This year we feel we are ready to take on the longer challenge. If we continue our training as we have planned, it will be a successful run.  I am celebrating our run today and having the best running partner ever!

Slice of Life Tuesday: Moments Turn into Hours

We had our Saturday all planned. It was to be a rather relaxing day just sitting by the pool. Then, life happened!  On Friday, I had decided to open our patio umbrella to give us some shade as we were to eat lunch on the patio later. As I cranked the handle just one more little tug, it came off in my hand.  There I was with an umbrella crank broken with no hope of fixing it.  Well, for the moment it was fine. The umbrella was up and was staying that way. No problem.  That is until we would eventually close it...

So, our project on Saturday was in the morning, run out to Home Depot and pick up another umbrella.  I was even thinking... how nice, it will be on sale probably!  As we asked for directions to the patio furniture, the worker pointed to a small amount of items in the middle of an aisle. That was all they had.  Well, one of the items was an umbrella. We looked it over but we weren't sure it would fit exactly. 

We left and decided to travel 20 miles to the next large town and go to a few of the bigger stores there: Home Depot, Lowes, Menards.  We went from store to store...nothing!  By now it is past noon and we were hungry so we stopped for lunch then returned home...without an umbrella.

Later that night, after checking online options, we decided to go back and get the original umbrella we had seen that morning. We checked it out and brought it home.  After my husband worked and worked to get it up and working he came inside.

"I think you need to come out and see this, " he said.  I followed him out and he explained that the umbrella was great except for one thing.  The tilt button on the pole did not work. So the umbrella would be straight up in the air and then all of a sudden take a dip to one side or the other. After trying and trying to fix it, we finally gave up and boxed it up to return to the store.

We are back to our old umbrella...still open ALL the time until we get the new one ordered and hopefully set up successfully.  So, much for a nice relaxing day by the pool!

Celebration Saturday: Pool Date

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The weather has been very cool for July here in northern Indiana. Due to that issue, we have been postponing our pool date for several weeks. Yesterday turned out to be the perfect time for using the pool to stay warm!

Angie and the girls, Audrey 6 and Mallory 3, came up for a nice lunch and a swim. Gramma made sandwiches for the girls and Grandpa brought lunch for the adults! We ate and then got ready to swim!

Audrey had lots of races with everyone. Here she is racing against her mother! She usually won, even though she would hold you back just so she could get a good start on the second lap of the pool.

Mallory had fun swimming, too. She got tired of playing Marco Polo and just wanted to spend time perfecting her swimming skills!

Audrey had fun wearing some goggles she found in the pool toy bag. We finally got them to work and fit her.  I don't think she ever actually wore them in the water, but they made a good photo op!

Mallory must have gotten worn out with all the swimming. She crashed and took a nap before heading for home! We had a great day and the weather even stayed warm enough to enjoy the pool.  We are already planning our next Pool Date!

Slice of Life Tuesday: Arena Dinner Theatre

A few weeks ago, my husband handed me a section from our local paper. In the section was an article about the Fort Wayne Arena Dinner Theatre.  The article was in our paper because one of the actors in the play was from here. Actually, she was from our own neighborhood. We had never been to this theatre and decided this was a perfect time to try in out.

The building that housed the theatre was originally the Fort Wayne Art School which was designed by the architect firm of Wing & Mahurin and built in 1920's. Arena has been in the West Central Neighborhood for eighteen years. It was transformed into an intimate dinner theater when the dinner theatre moved there.

The play we were to see was "Company" with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. The director was Christopher J. Murphy. The story starts with a man sitting alone on his 35th birthday. He is struggling with the notions of love and commitment. That plays out in various vignettes. Robert, the main character, was a confirmed bachelor whose friends were all getting married. The lives of these friends is shown within the scenes. Is marriage really for Robert, or was he better off single? The hilarious jokes and thrilling songs depict the story.

We were thrilled to be able to watch our neighbor and friend as she sang, danced and acted throughout the show. I was also thrilled to find out that another friend and fellow teacher was also a main character in the play. Both of these women did an outstanding job!

We were hooked from the beginning, which was a delightful dinner served before the show. We met some interesting people at our table. One couple was season ticket holders. They became the experts in what was happening that night. Another young couple was celebrating the wife's birthday. What an enjoyable night.

If you live near Fort Wayne, be sure to check out the Arena Dinner Theatre's website: www.arenadinnertheatre.org. Who knows, maybe we will be sitting at a table next to you at one of the productions!

Saturday Celebration: Everyone's a Hero

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A few weeks ago, my husband and I were taking our nightly two-mile walk around the neighborhood. People were outside doing the normal things people do in the summer: mowing lawns, washing cars, and watching their children play. It was a perfect evening...not too hot, nice breeze and the calm chatter of children.

As we proceeded north walking in the road so the small children could ride their bikes, push their wagons, or just skip along. We noticed one family all out in front with the children busy on new bikes. One small boy, about six or seven years old, was a pro with his bike riding. Coming along behind him was his little sister. She was just a beginner with a very small bike. She had on her flip-flops and was trying as best she could to keep up with him.

All of a sudden, one of her flip-flops fell off. Her bike stopped and she began to yell at her big brother. "Wait! My shoe fell off!" she screamed at him.  We continued to walk getting closer to them. The brother was not the least bit concerned about the state of his little sister. He continued riding on ahead of her.

She continued to scream, as only a little sister can do!  "I lost my shoe!  I lost my shoe!" Still the brother ignored her.

"Get my shoe for me!" She yelled at him.  Seeing the predicament, I calmly walked over to the little girl, picked up the tiny flip-flop and handed it to the girl.  She looked at me solemnly, and quietly said, "Thank you."

I smiled and said, "You're welcome!"  The little girl put on her shoe, turned her bike around and saw her grandmother watching her.  She looked at her grandmother and said, "That lady helped me with my shoe." Then she rode back toward her house.

End of story? Well, not quite.  Now every time we take our walk and that little girl is outside playing, she will look over at me and say, "You're the lady that gave me my shoe, aren't you?"  I smile and say, "Yes, I am."

My husband smiles and says, "You are her hero!"
I guess everyone can be a hero to someone! Today, I am celebrating the heroes in my life!

Slice of Life Tuesday: Happy 50th Anniversary

 On Saturday, we traveled to Detroit, MI. to attend a celebration of 50 years of marriage of my cousins.  Joan and Gene were married on June 20, 1964. I remember the wedding because to me, it was like watching Cinderella marry her Prince Charming. She was my older cousin and I thought this was the most romantic thing ever!

Fifty years ago Joan met Gene at a USO dance in Detroit. She went to dance with the servicemen and help them have some fun. At one of those dances, she met the love of her life...Gene!  Now with two grown children and two grandchildren, they celebrated that life together!

I remember attending the wedding and thinking how beautiful she was and how handsome her groom was in his uniform.

This is the wedding party today at the celebration. Sheryl was one of the flower girls and her mom and aunt were bride's maids while her father was a groomsman. We kept looking at the original picture of this group (plus a few more who didn't attend) and made sure they were each in the correct spot.

Their children, Don and LeeAnn, put together a wonderful day for everyone, but especially their parents. I know Joan and Gene are very proud of them!

Being the Indiana cousins, my sister and I along with our husbands, enjoyed seeing everyone and being able to be part of this great celebration of two lives. Joan and Gene  will always be our examples of a Princess and her Prince Charming!