This 'n That Thursday

Well, it feels like we've returned to winter weather again. Snow. Cold. Wind. I believe I've had quite enough. Tuesday I leave for a week in FL in the Sarasota area visiting my dad and stepmom. I am very much looking forward to wearing shorts and enjoying the Florida sunshine.

Photos from the Polar Plunge are still coming in. Here are a couple from Pete Martin:

Nice tutu, Todd Rowekamp! Here are the winners from the Polar Plunge:

Best Group - Thriller Chillers - Photo
Best Male - Kane Erdenberger - Photo
Funniest Costume - Greg Anderson - Photo

I saw a couple of the Thriller Chillers in the changing tent. Scary.

Ellen Hamernik reports that the Cinnamon Bread recipe is a keeper. She's made it again yesterday ... a double batch!! Let me know if you try any of the recipes and whether or not they're keepers. I'm always curious ...

Saturday training runs will now be back at the Rochester Athletic Club (RAC) on Saturday mornings at 7:15 AM. If you would like to volunteer to staff a water stop on a morning, please contact Lin Gentling. We can't make these runs happen without faithful volunteers.

From Arnie Kinnunen, Bear Chase Ski Race Director: Great Bear Chase ski race will take place Sunday, March 8 on the Swedetown Trails near Calumet, MI. 50K Freestyle, 26K Classic, 26K Freestyle. Register online at active.com More info at Bear Chase website .

The Little Rock Marathon has been known for their HUGE finisher's medals. Judy Weller passed along an email with this info: "The 2009 Little Rock Marathon finisher’s medal is black zinc alloy and is 7 1/4 inches long and 6 1/4 inches wide. The medal features the 2009 circus theme and weighs in at a pound and a half. The medal features the race’s signature globe, race director’s kiss and the “race for every pace” motto." Bling. Bling. Bling!

Rochesterfest Triathlon training update: My shoulders/upper chest were a little sore yesterday after Tuesday's inaugural swim. But I'm planning to get back in the pool tomorrow sometime, and then again Sunday noon with Judy and Shaun, our esteemed "coach". :-) I was on the bike today for an hour. I can do this!

I had lunch yesterday at 300 1st ...

(house salad and tomato basil soup ... very good) with my friend Kim Klocke. She's a very talented quilter. She has her own company Flying Moose Designs . She designs very fun, bright, modern quilts and has had many of them entered in shows in Paducah, KY and Houston, TX as well as the Minnesota Quilt Show. Some of her latest quilts have beads on them for some texture and sparkle. I think the cupcakes are great fun. She's going to send me a photo of a larger quilt with 6 cupcakes on it. I'll post it.

This is from an unfinished quilt called Once Upon a Blue Moose (there's one blue moose on the quilt). You can see some of the beadwork. I took the photos with my phone. They're not the best quality.

On a whim I signed up for a wine class last night at Sontes called A Port in Any Storm. One guess what we were sampling. Yes, Port. Actually 2 Madeiras, 7 Ports and a Cognac. I just about choked every time I took a sip of that cognac. Really strong stuff. It was infused with Madagascar vanilla and smelled very good. The wines were all good. All the knowledge they were sharing with us was w-a-a-a-y over my head, but it was interesting nevertheless.

Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow I'm going to grind out the March issue of RTC News. Gotta get it to the printer before I can fly out of here ...

Thought for the day: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

TTFN.