Thanksgiving 2007

The Jetson's hosted Jane's brother for Thanksgiving. The menu included herb-crusted turkey breast with gravy, stuffing with cranberries and apples, green beans with carmalized onions and apple cider vinegar dressing, and twice-baked mashed potatos. All this complemented with a nice bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau 2007 that Jane's brother brought down--a tradition started last year. I had prepped the turkey the night before, placing a mixture of finely minced sage, rosemary, thyme and garlic in EVOO underneath and on top of skin and allowed it to sit in the refrigerator over night...hmmmm it smelled good cooking. The next day the turkey was baked-off at 425 for 30 minutes and then 350 until done. The stuffing base was Stove Top with additional suateed onion and celery with craisens and appples added for a little extra tartness and sweetness. The greenbean recipe was from Rachey Ray. I thought it was the best Thanksgiving dinner yet. For dessert we had pumpkin cheesecake form Costco. It was good--better than we could've made. After an early dinner we all went to see the movie Enchanted, which was a pretty good family movie.

The next day (Black Friday) we went shopping in the morning at Tysons Galleria and in the afternoon took Astro for a long walk behing Magruder High School. It was a beautiful day, the air was crisp and the farmers were out baling hay in the fields for use in the surrounding horse farms signalling the last few days of fall. The holiday was well-appreciated as we walked through the browning grasses into the late afternoon glow.

What A Mess

Well, the renovation project has started for real. The excavator was at work yesterday (Monday, November 26) and the back yard now contains huge mounds of dirt and stacks of cinder block and brick for the foundation walls (see pictures at right). Of course, it also rained a little so it was muddy as well.

The foundation footers and walls for the new bedroom addition and new access to the basement are task #1. Hopefully, this part will be over in a couple of weeks and it won't be such a mess in the back yard. We needed to create a new access to the basement since the new bedroom addition will basically be built over the old cement stairs that led down to the basement door so we needed a new access point to the basement. The new basement entrance will be centrally located along the rear of the house and once the job is complete I'll make the entryway (inside the basement) into a nice mudroom. We'll use this entrance a lot---using the basement access to the house after trail-runs and working in the yard, when our clothes and shoes are muddy.

The new addition, as seen in the plans rear elevation, should look like this when all is finished. There will be (left to right), the bedroom with bay window, a "courtyard area" with steps up to the screened breezeway and steps down to the basement, and the screened in porch. The "courtyard area" between the bedroom additon and screened porch will look nice when we put flagstone down and landscaped. Of course, we'll have to do the landscaping ourselves, so.............

Daughter Judy's X-Coutry Season

This is just a short commentary on Judy's senior year x-country season. Her girls team did not make the State Finals this year although Judy had a respectable season even though fighting through severe blisters early-on and I sense excercise-induced asthma throughout the season. I also have EIA and can sympathize--it isn't easy to diagnose, gradually worsens with age, and degrades aerobic fitness especially during a race. It doesn't take much loss of aerobic fitness to send you into oxygen dept and really sap you effort. What I have come to notice, after running with this condition for a long time, is that EIA does not permit those deep restorative breaths necessary to "blow-off' the effects of lactic acid build-up in your muscles and you develop severe muscle fatigue that you can't overcome.


I had noticed Judy strugglling during the Run Through The Grapevine race a few weeks back: After the first 1-2 miles she was hurting, only taking short rapid breaths, and was slowing down. I kept prodding her to breath deep, but I don't think she was able to. I had let her use my Albuterol inhaler late in the race, but by then (as I know from experience) it was too late and she was so tired it was a struggle to the finish line. Since then during our family runs she has been using my Albuterol inhaler before going out and seems to run much better, even on difficult training runs, without the need for stops or experiencing any discomfort. We'll discuss this with the pediatrician the next time we're there to get Judy her own Rx for Albuterol, ADVAIR, or whatever is usually presecribed for teenages with EIA.

Anyway, the girls had a so-so season; and Judy got a bad chest cold toward the end of the season which really hurt her running times. Here are a couple of phots from the girls regional championship. The picture I like best is when the "pack" of runners is starting out (see picture at right). Seeing who sprints to the front and who maneuvers for position as the pack stretches out. Then later following how their relative positions change as the race proceeds. The course at the regionals is just hilly enough to separate the front pack of elite runners. The girl at the front of this picture had been winning all the league races this past season by wide margins and I think she may have set a course record in the county championships the week prior to this race. In that race she was way, way, way out front of everyone else. In this race she finished second and in the State Finals two weeks later finished sixth. The weather this particular day was bizarre. In the afternoon, it was really pretty hot and I was thinking....Oh Boy! this is not good race weather, especially with Judy not quite being over her illness. But minutes before the start of the race a weather front stormed through. No rain, but very high winds and when the winds settled the weather had turned much cooler. Judy struggled to the finish (again I think of the breathing problem) with a respectable time but not what she would have been capable of if completely healthy. Oh well, now she's running more with Jane and I---and hopefully we'll be able to run some adult races together.

A Change is in The Air

November 9, 2007. There will be big changes coming to Jetson Manor over the next couple months. We've hired a contractor to add-on a Master Bedroom Suite (the contractor's words, not mine) and a large screened-in porch off the back of the house. In addition, there will be a little renovating of the downstairs bathroom and basement (more about that later). Why a screened porch? Well, ever since the Asian Tiger mosquito (picture at right) invaded the Washington Metro region---about 5-7 years ago---you can't sit outside at any time of the day without lathering on mosquito repellant and having citronella candles aflame....and still you'll get bitten.

In this area, having a screened porch is the only way to enjoy sitting outside. I expect we will use the porch a lot for most of the year since we like the outdoors. However, we'll have to do a lot of landscaping in the backyard but that will be focus of later posts. Anyway, I like the plans we finally developed after a long time of trying to get everything we wanted, where we were allowed to build it (there are a lot of building codes and restrictions), and within our budget (which is still more than we would've liked....but that's the price of living in the Washington metro area).

As you can see from the plans, the Master Bedroom Suite (MBS) will be of average size, something like 13 x 13 with a nice bay window and will have a nice walk-in closet. with a nice walk-in clothes closet for Jane. I expect my dressing area will still be in the basement, but that's okay with me. The "new space" to be added-on are indicated by the dimensions and contractor comments (you can click on the picture for an expanded view)--the rest of the current house has no comments (just blank space) for reference. Our current bedroom will be redecorated (by Jane and I) and converted into a home office. A door from the MBS will lead out onto a screened breezeway that will connect to the screened porch. Right now the back of the house is getting ready for construction (see picture below) and I've tried to salvage anything I can (mostly pressure-treated pine, flagstone and gravel to reuse later. We had our final walk-through meeting with the contractor on November 16th. They plan on starting the Monday after Thanksgiving and we're hoping that they'll be finished by the end of January.

Old Man Wanna-Be.....

This old man wanna-be sitting on his behind watching this movie. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie "No Country for Old Men." I had read the book earlier this year and really liked it---Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorite writers. I won't bother writing a synopsis of the book since it has been awhile since I read it and the movie trailer does a much better job anyway. The early reviews have been positive so I may have to see this one over Thanksgiving next week. No mamby-pampby James Bond movie like last year.

The Glass Castle

Wow....much like Angela'a Ashes this is an amazing story of childhood survival under bizarre conditions. The book is an autobiographical account of Jeannette Walls's early childhood growing-up in a clearly dysfunctional family. Constantly on the move to avoid bill-collectors, her dad (a sometimes alcoholic) and mom (a free-spirited artist) still managed to teach their children complex mathematical and physics principles and encouraged reading. However, the rest was up to the kids to manage on their own. Which they did---mostly. Ironically, after an impoverished childhood, Jeannette Walls eventual became a reporter chronicling the lives of the rich and famous. Anyway, think you had a tough time growing-up and your parents could have done a better job. Read The Glass Castle and then wistfully think back to how lucky you (we) had it. All the Jetsons read this book and like it--thanks to Jane's sister for suggesting this book.

There is Room For You

Jane suggested this book to me and I did enjoyed it. "There is Room For You"' by Charlotte Bacon is part travelogue (both to the India in the 30's and 40's and India today), part story of mother-daughter relationships, and part memoir of Anna's mother Rose's life growing up in Calcutta during the waning years of British Colonial Rule. The story centers on 35-year-old Anna Singer, a grant writer from New York City recently divorced from her husband, still mourning the accidental death of her father, and not comfortable with herself. A book review I read stated that this book reminds the reader "....that we are all travelers forced to read strange maps and decipher unfamiliar codes in a constant quest to be at home in the world." I like that analogy. The novel slowly unfolds, alternating between the memories that Rose wrote in her diary after fleeing India during the outbreak of World War II and later England before settling and marrying in the United States and those of Anna as she tries to explore her mother's past to decipher the events that damaged Rose's spirit and ability to be a complete person, wife and mother. The story has an interesting twist at the end and that leaves the reader hopeful that this family will be okay.

College Applications...Let's Git-R-Done!

November 8th, 2007. There's been a flurry of high school transcript requests, teacher evalution forms, and college applications being handed out and/or submitted this past week. Although Elroy and Judy were both attentive over the summer, investigating colleges (online searches, perusing college guides, and a few trips to local colleges), completing several college essays, and studying to retake the SAT, it seems we've all taken our eye off the ball as the deadlines for getting all this information organized, deciding which colleges to apply to, and getting the applications submitted was fast approaching. So there's been a big push to just Git-R-Done! Admittedly, there is no excuse for being lacadasical, but the college application process is really way more difficult than it needs to be. Anyway, as of this week Judy has applied to Tufts University, Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, University of Maryland at College Park, Bates College, and Kalamazoo College. Elroy has applied to Goucher College, St. Marys College of Maryland, Earlham College, Ursinus, UMBC, and the Honors Program at Towson University.

Both did re-take the SAT in early October and increased their scores which are pretty impressive and should be competitive at most of the schools on their short lists....we'll see.

The Spaniard

I knew all along that, more likely than not, we would be adding a new family member when Jane brought home a stray cat. Not quite a kitten but still a youngish male and very friendly tiger cat. We were out walking around Kentsburg a couple Friday nights ago and the cat/kitten was meowing very loudly and began following us home. Of course, we couldn't just keep walking like I suggested. Jane had to stop to say hello and then spent the next hour talking to nearby homeowners asking whether this was their cat. Of course, nobody had ever seen him before and knew nothing about him and yada, yada, yada we brought the cat home that night (see picture at top left). Jane did post several CAT FOUND posters around the neighborhood where we found the cat and sent his picture and identifying information to the local Humane Society, obviously no one has been looking for him. No big surprize there! And of course, the longer he stayed with us......I knew the harder it would be to get rid of him. I've lived through this before and vowed to NEVER EVER NEVER let it happen again. So it's now been a couple of weeks.....he's been neutered, vaccinated and named. Yeah. Maximus Decimus Meridius....(after the Russel Crowe character in the movie "Gladiator"). Commander of the armies of the north...general of the Felix Legions...loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius....what can I say we all liked the movie Gladiator--thanks to Elroy for the suggestion. As for me.........I'll always call Max "the Spaniard".

Run Through The Grapevine

Sunday, November 4th. The whole family ran the 8K (4.8 mile) Run Through The Grapevine in Linganore. Click on the picture of the race start (at left) and try to find Jane. The rest of us were already too far ahead, by the time this picture was snapped, jumping out to an early lead--that might have also been our downfall later in the race. There were approximately 483 participants, the Jetsons finished around in the middle of the pack. All things considered that was pretty good as there was no dead weight in this race---only pretty good looking runners. Jane ran with some running partners and won their gender/age group (and a bottle of wine from the host Linganore Winery). The course was brutal with many hills and uneven footing. But the course was also very scenic as half the race wound through the vineyard (see picture below). Since Elroy has been preparing for his upcoming wrestling season by running with us he finished wiht the best time although he felt sick the last 2 miles and looked worse. But kudos to Elroy. Judy's cross country season ended last Thursday and she was able to run with us and really liked the course......NOT!!! Anyway, we had a great morning and the Redskins won later in the day, so no complaints. I've copied the race summary posted on the Howard County Striders website:

Stef Commins had not run a race in a year and a half, and she had not run a cross country race in two years, but she had little trouble dispatching a strong women’s field at the 14th Annual Run Through the Grapevine 8k at Linganore Winery. She bolted to an early lead on past winner Sherry Stick, mastered the steep hills and uneven surfaces, and swept to victory in 33:11. She found herself racing only against the men. Her victory was all the more amazing because she arrived at the race site only five minutes before the 10:00 AM start. After the obligatory bathroom stop, “I was running downhill to the start [while] pinning on my race number,” she said. That was her warm-up. A graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus, Ms. Commins trains in Patapsco State Park and was encouraged to run the race by her friend Izudin Mehmedovic.
The men’s race proved a much tighter competition. A five or six man pack stayed together for the first two miles of the race, a considerable feat itself considering the difficulty of the terrain. Tom Williams decided he would make his move on the treacherously steep uphill at 2½ miles. “I planned my whole race around that,” he said. Sure enough, Tom’s awesome surge up that hill threw his competitors into chaos and gave him the lead, which he successfully managed for the next 1½ miles. Alas! He made his move too soon. Randy McDermott and Joe Wiegner regained lost ground on the next uphill and caught Williams at the top of the hill at four miles. The three stayed together but fragmented on the final uphill that took them through the grapevines for a final time. Wiegner seized the lead and held off McDermott for the men’s win in 28:25.
In the men’s master competition (runners 40 and over), Phil Lang beat Sheldon Degenhardt by 20 seconds. Phil had run the Marine Corps Marathon the week before (in 2:53 no less) and no one (not even Phil) expected him to run the Grapevine very fast. However, he proved everyone wrong. “Phil was just ahead of me the whole way,” Sheldon related wistfully. “I guess I’m eroding faster than the hills.”
Kathy Bernetti placed first among the master women (37:40). Kathy said she did not fall down, “but the guy in front me did.” She did not help him up!The cross country race also included team competitions: 25 teams competed in seven different age and gender divisions. The fastest team from the Howard County Striders consisted of McDermott and Williams (second and third overall), Mike Colaicovo (sixth) and Sheldon Degenhardt (11th), but they were the only team in the Open Men division so they won hands down. The open coed division proved the most competitive, with no fewer than 10 teams. With Izzy Mehmedovic and Stef Commins, the “College Rejects” from UMBC crushed their competition
The top five of each gender won gift certificates from Feet First as well as certificates for wine at the Winery. Age group winners received gift certificates for wine (except for those who where underage!). Everyone who crossed the finish line was handed a wine glass.
The Run Through the Grapevine 8k cross country race is staged each autumn by the Howard County Striders. Jason Tripp directed the race, but he enjoyed considerable support from Gerry Clapper, who founded the race in the early 1990’s. Gerry baked 41 loaves of banana-nut bread, including a new flavor this year called chocolate cocoanut. Post-race amenities included cider, apples, and bagels, but everyone came for the nut bread.
The Striders wish to thank Anthony and Eric Aellen, owners of the Linganore Winery, for use of their excellent grounds, and also for opening up their wine cellars after the race!

04:27:54 A New Marathon PR

On October 28th I participated in "The People's Marathon"....AKA the Marine Corps Marathon. I had been training since late June with increasing weekly base miles and escalating long runs. The plan was to run a 10:00 minute per mile pace, with a little buffer, to finish under 4:30 hours. The plan mostly worked; went out a little too fast and had a difficult time on miles 20-23, but rallied to finish and meet my goal.

As usual the start was jammed with approximately 22,000 runners (see picture above). The course was new this year and a bit more challenging; two big hills at the start and a couple less than desirable course route changes. But the crowds and marines (who were present at all water and aid stations) were very supportive and there were the usual cast of runners in costumes that were very entertaining. In particular I remembered running for a lot of the race with three girls (picture at left) who wore patriotic running attire--very cute. The water stations were well organized and had enough water and gatorade---but what a mess to run through (see picture below on right)!

Jane, Judy and Elroy met me at mile 21 and urged me on. It was nice to have them there at the end. After I trudged uphill the last 200 yards to the Iwo Jima Memorial (where the finish is) I was pretty tired and had one major leg cramp that sent me in agony to the ground for a few minutes until I could get it stretched out. Glad to be finished with one race, we had to push our way through throngs of runners and spectators that overwhelmed the metro lines in order to get home.