August.... where ya at?

August... Colorado, lots of BBC classes, book club, birthday party, Hood to Coast, Thesis defense, baby shower...
It'll probably be September by the time I finish writing this.

To wrap up the Hood to Coast, we had a blast on a weekend filled with some of the oddest occurrences.

• A Buck (yes, I'm sure; lots of horns... antlers?) put its head down and sprinted toward me (Anne) on a narrow footbridge located on the Springwater trail in Gresham while running my first leg of the relay. I will forever remember being informed by a Nike Germany team member, "Itzee deeah!"

• A "failure to obey traffic control device" violation was cited at approximately 0242 am on Saturday, August 25th. Bail was posted by The Bubbas in then amount of approximately $223. Thank you, Bubbas.
  

• Over the weekend, a world record was set for the word "Bubba" being spoken over 2000 times. (We can read lips.)

• Together The Bubbas stimulated the local economy by spending approximately $7000 on transportation, room, and board over a 5-day period. Ugh, nevermind.

• We had such a fun time - The Bubbas are a blast! More pictures are here, here and here.

As you saw, the Bubbas were in uniform, at least for group photos. My "Carrot Soup" Hudson's Treasure Chest special T-shirt (thank you Donna) came to me just a wee large, so I revised it. Just wanted to share the process - a quick crafty, county fair-esque project.
Before:
Step 1.
Trace the desired-fitting t-shirt outline onto the Carrot Soup shirt.
Step 2.
Stitch on the lines.

Step 3.
Cut off the excess, hem sleeves and bottom.

Step 4.
Apply name tag; start running.
Voila!

Weekend plans: Paul & I will be seeking out Fall tribal fishing salmon tomorrow, for smoking in the King Sunday. Cross your fingers (that we find a fish, prepare it correctly, and don't get sick)
Oh yeah, we'll also continue celebrating the completion of my Master's Thesis defense and permission for graduation - yay me.
Happy holiday!

-A

*Special thanks to Marci Simpson - er, Koski, for so artistically Simpsonizing our images, which can be viewed in the previous post. Your magnificent rendition of us in yellow will never be lost again.

Update update

Yo others & Bubs. More Hood to Coast photo updates and stories, plus county fair-esque crafty creation updates to come this Friday. Until then, wish Anne (or Bubba Anne) luck on her master's thesis oral defense Thursday, and on her attempt to have a lot of fun Thursday night.

Cheers,
A&P

GOT R DUN!

We made it to Seaside!!
Just a few that were not posted last time. I know none show us at the finish but those pictures are on Bubba Kyle's camera. Being the Bubbas that we are, we forgot the cables to upload them to our computer. We finished up all 197 miles a little after 5 PM on Saturday. After a post-race burger we went back to the condo and quickly fell asleep. I think everybody got at least 11 hours....well deserved I must say.

Bubbas on the Loose!

The Bubba Hood to Coast adventure has begun, as of 1:30 this afternoon. We are now almost 12 hours in, and going strong!
Here's the highlights so far.

Name tags:

Start!

Bubba Van:
The competition:Exchanges:
Free showers:

Itza Party News & Other

Garden Party, originally uploaded by apkoski.

Sunday Paul & I held a little BBQ for several good causes, including an Imperial IPA tapping, his birthday, my un-graduation, and the official unveiling of our new(-ish) patio and arbergola!
The gang was all - pretty much - here, and Mary's picnic basket got a workout (full of 'vintage' toys). Paul's big gift, AKA his new toy, was a Brinkmann Smoke King Deluxe, a giant rolling grill and smoker combo. Uf, maybe we should have built a bigger patio.

Now that the party's over, we're looking toward the next party: Hood to Coast with The Bubbas! Wonder what you get when you put 13 Bubbas on a plane? We'll be enjoying ourselves all weekend between Hood & Coast, and at our little teeny beach house that sleeps 8. It's not about the bed.

Finding myself on campus yesterday, I decided to try and find something to buy from the PSU bookstore before my 'membership' runs out. I saw this book, "Wordless Diagrams," so neat0 - but didn't pick it up.
Sigh. So I'll be presenting my thesis defense next Thursday, a couple days after we get back from the Big Race. It will be nice to have school more or less done, but that means I'll be forced to take that big step out into the world... again.
Anyway, it's nap time. I hab a colb.

-A

The Summer of Smudge

"Lookit hun, a smudge," I sighed, as we lounge on the living room sofa, reviewing Vacation Day 3 photos. Something catches my eye out the window, and I glance up to see a hummingbird flitting to the sugar water feeder. Beyond her lies the last full mile of great plains before the land rises up into the jagged beauty of the Saguache Range. Awe-struck, I recall that this is the land, that in the 1850's, Major Gunnison surveyed and pronounced was "uninhabitable by man." This is the land of great explorers and adventurers; of extreme athletes, of gun-toting Republicans, of pretty, leathered ladies in cowboy boots, and yes, of Midwestern retirees. Flatlanders, to be precise, arrive daily in the Rocky Mountain State with their bikes, tortilla presses, and yak racks, dreaming of fourteeners, ice cream stands, and bear sightings. "I [heart] Colorado" keychains jingle at the Safeway check-out counter. Baby Boomers pant up hiking trails, nose to the GPS, wiping away the sweat with their microfiber bandannas. Local Saturday sidewalks are alive with Crocs-clad families, old couples in matching fishing shirts and mesh-pocketed pants, and the occasional scantily-clad, tan, river guide or kayak instructor.

Well that was fun! No segues here. Back to the smudge. Can you believe we went nearly the whole summer with a stinking smudge on our camera lens?! Folks, it doesn't matter who's name is on it if you can't see out of it.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Exhibit C.
-A

It Pays to Run

I'm not kidding; we might have a career in this! Actually, I should broaden it to 'getting outside' in the city. Paul & I keep finding cash $$$ money on our runs & other outings! I picked up a $5 Monday at 72nd & Harold - would have a photograph of it but it's already in the cash register at DQ. Paul has found a few singles and a larger denomination on the ground during a run and while walking to a cooperative work office. My biggest find was a $20, a couple years ago back home, a surprising rural find.
Nonetheless, we will not be calculating our hourly or per mile rate, or retiring any time soon.

-A

Insert Cheesy Slogan Here

Salida flowers, originally uploaded by apkoski.

Ahhh, home sweet home. Back from or rocky mountain high in the rocky mountain state, we're maxin' and relaxin' outside of our house.... scraping paint again. Enough about that though, let's talk about our Colorado vacation!

We flew to Denver and had reserved a compact car bound for Salida, which is about 3-1/2 hours SW of Denver. Well, we got a "complimentary upgrade" Monster Ford Escape, and were pissed for several reasons... until we discovered how many "2 wheel drive" roads we would be driving on that week. Let me tell you, if you have any jiggly spots on your body, they will be called out while driving/riding on 2WD roads, which are just 4WD roads minus the giant boulders: washed-out, dirty, rocky, wild rides.

Anyway, my (Anne's) dad & Sandi & Luke have a house just outside of Salida, which sits just east of Sawach range, and just northwest of the Sangre de Christo range. It's a beautiful place, with beautiful views, and hummingbirds everywhere. (Is that the CO state bird?)

We did a bunch of hiking. Also attempted a 14'er (Shavano) but the weather didn't hold. We got above the clouds to the treeline, and saw more clouds building. Then we never saw any lightning from the vantage of the house. Bummer.

We got to go mountain biking, not once, but twice. Once with Paul's Uncle Paul in Nucla on the Paradox Trail (BRUTAL!), and once up and down the Shavano/Tabagauche trailhead road with my dad (downhill is SO fast & fun!).

At the house we played lots of games, listened to music, and read (Harry Potter-heads). Paul got sick for about a day, so he got a little more house time than the rest of us. He would tell you that it is NOT fun to be sick on vacation.

We went to the local library regularly to make contact with the outside world (no phone/tv/radio to our knowledge @ the house). On our second day visiting, a cycling criterium was being held right outside its doors. I sat and watched, but didn't have my camera to document my first ever viewing of a Crit. Nobody crashed - and then the monsoon rains arrived during the last race of the day. We could hear it coming over the rooftops from blocks away! We raced for cover, and assumed that the Crit. ended early.

We ate some great meals at the house, and made our own candy-packed Blizzards with a grinder that Luke found at a yard sale. What crazy individual would give that up -- for $5?!
We played with doggie Bobber, of whom we regrettably have no photo.

We had a wonderfully scenic drive back from Nucla to Salida; saw Aspen forests, what appeared to be the whole San Juan Mtn. range - filling almost 1/3 of the 360 horizon, 6 very polite cattle, & 5 pickups heading the other way.

On our way back to Salida, we added another stamp to our National Parks Passport at the Black Canyon National Park. Those park rangers are smart... Pleistocene... igneous... magma... Cool.

That's our trip in a nutshell! We had a great, fun-packed time, earned ourselves a house key, and are missing everything/one already. More pictures are available at our flickr page, sidebar.

-A

Forgot the Address Book, so:

Digital postcard for everyone -

Hi guys,
We're having a great time in Colorado. Yee-haw!

A&P