The love of a dog...

Saturday, December 26, 2015

As I had been doing throughout the holidays even though I was off, drove to the farm to push up my ever growing manure pile.  The semi tractor trailer and operator who normally empties our pit is an independent cuss who does not think it necessary to return a phone call or come on times previously scheduled to do what he is contracted to do.  He may have a legitimate reason for not coming, but I have no way of knowing because he refuses to communicate.  He has been doing this work for the farm for many years and so is grandfathered in.  I have him categorized under ‘pain in the ass’ so I know how to find his number easily.

I was lifting a load of horse shit high in the air with my bucket when, out of the corner of my eye (do round eyes have corners really?) I noticed a human being.  I pooped my pants and then yelled, “ you scared the shit out of me and made me poop my pants!”

“I’m so sorry…I tried to get your attention, but you’re so focused on your bucket of horse poop,” Jinene said.

She is the Barn Manager and totally serious about horses and what she does.  As I am, of course.

“Could you help me fix the electric fence and then look at a wheel on the feed cart before you go?  I know you’re off, but I’d sure appreciate it,” she said.

“Well…sure…right after I change my diaper,” I said.

I helped her, of course, and then headed for the park and a Survival Workout.  Anyone reading regularly (most of the literate world) knows that I have struggled to get these workouts in.  And when I do get to them, my body reminds me that I have been irregular by not performing as many repetitions as I would like it to.  In any event, I pushed hard knowing I’d have that wonderful out-of-shape soreness the following day. 

As I was hiking, a dear friend of mine texted to tell me her dog of twelve years had died.  I have been down this path several times over the years and tears formed in my eyes and my heart ached as I thought of the special dogs from my past, the unconditional love and joy they had given me, and the anguish I knew she was feeling at that moment.  There is little to say to someone in these moments, so you listen and let them know you care.  In time you heal and in a little more time you find another pup to raise and to love because it is such a wonderful deal filled almost entirely with upsides and few downs.

Survival Workout:  60 minutes

Training Heart Rate:  100-150 bpm.

Calories burned:  600

A very merry Christmas to all...

Friday, December 25, 2015

And so this is Christmas

And what have we done

Another year over

A new one just begun…

 Gone are the days of staying up into the wee hours of the morning getting presents from Santa out and ready for a Christmas morning celebration with four young children.  Though I miss those times, I enjoy sleeping normally, too.

As I always seem to do, I was up and moving by 7 a.m. even though I had sworn I would sleep in.  Ah well…

I texted Savannah knowing, like me, she never sleeps late and might like to join me in the park for a Christmas morning hike with the dogs.  I wanted to keep the exercise portion of my exercise blog going and since I was on a pretty good roll for the month of December, figured Christmas Day should be no exception.  She was up and agreed to meet with her spastic dog, Copper.

We hiked for an hour, but since the family was due by 10:30, had to hurry home for final preparations.

“I have to go home and take a quick shower,” she said as we hustled across the Rugby field towards our cars.

“I showered a couple of days ago, I think, so I’m okay,” I said. She looked at me like I wasn’t funny…which we both know I am.

As we have always done, presents were opened slowly, one at a time, and with seven people in the room and multiple gifts from each to all of the others, this process took over two hours.  I get no greater joy than to give except maybe for seeing how much my own children seem to enjoy doing the same.  If I have done nothing else right in my life, this one thing is good. 

We had a dinner that included chicken stew, something I’m avoiding, and a special ten-pound turkey, made particularly for Jack, and me since it is our favorite meal.  I stuck to the turkey and again ignored desserts.  Okay…maybe I did have a small piece of banana cream pie.

And so…this IS Christmas and a new year is around the corner.  I know what I have started to do, at least, but realize how much more is to be done on my new life’s journey.  It will be a good one.

Hike duration:  60 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  90 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  350.

T'was the night before Christmas...

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Christmas Eve and my oldest son’s birthday.  It had always proved to be a challenge to balance the two, trying hard to make Jason feel special on his birthday and not lose it in the Christmas festivities that my side of the family celebrated on this day traditionally. 

And then things start to change.  Last year Jason married and suddenly the holidays had to compete with the traditions of another person…his wife’s.  With three other children and now being divorced, I know the holidays will continue to evolve over the coming years.  Here is what I know for sure, though.  I don’t care so much about what day it is or where I am, but only who I am with.  If it means moving gift giving to another day or place (I will surely be living in a different house next year) then that is what will happen.  I will lament for a moment or two that time has not stood still, but get over that quickly as I relish in the present and how good it is to be with loved ones and who they are now.  Who knows what next year will bring and who might be in my own life by then?  If I care for them and them for me, we’ll work that all out as loving, caring folks tend to do. 

I hit Kleifelds for breakfast with Cecilia for company.  She was throwing a party later that day to replace the family celebration we’d once had at our parents’ house.  I was surprised she was there at all, though maybe her preparation time matched my own, which meant as long as I beat the first guest to my house, I was on time and ready.

I drove home and hopped on the trainer for an hour ride and finished in just enough time to clean up and take Heidi and Jack to their grandpa’s house for a lunch of chicken paprikash.  Since we were heading directly to Cecilia’s from there to have more food and because my stomach still didn’t seem to like being fed, I went easy on the stuff.  My father-in-law, one of those pushy types who isn’t satisfied if you aren’t loosening your belt to make room for gluttonous behavior, tried to get me to eat more.  I refused, politely.

I only ate shrimp and vegetables at my sister’s place, passing on all desserts and dairy products.  I think I can safely say that I will survive this holiday season without gaining an ounce and quite possibly losing some weight.

We returned home with cousin Kimmie in tow and decorated the new tree I had purchased earlier that morning, realizing the ‘Charlie Brown’ tree simply wasn’t big enough to satisfy our needs.  Heidi and I concluded the night as we so often do by watching George C. Scott’s version of ‘A Christmas Carol’.  There is no better Scrooge in my opinion, which is the only one that matters…to me, at least.

Bike duration:  60 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  850.

Jack's home...

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

I was taking a vacation day, but no matter.  I hurried off to the farm to push up the manure pile, which was flowing out into the parking lot because the Manure Guy had yet to come to take away the overflowing accumulation.  I had picked Heidi up before driving to the farm since she was coming home for the holidays and had never seen the place.  She declined to look around though, because she was concerned about her cat, Bellatrix, who was acting anxious during the car ride. 

“I’m going to push up the manure pile in my New Holland tractor, which is pretty cool and something I’d sure you’d like to capture on your camera,” I suggested. 

She was pretty sure that it wasn’t that cool and elected to stay behind.

I spent some time going over issues with the concrete the plumber had poured over the hole we’d dug the previous Saturday with the guys installing the new industrial washer after manuring.

“He only skim-coated this thing where there used to be four inches of concrete.  It’ll never stand up to this new washer,” the installer told me.

“Okay…so what do you want to do?” I asked, hoping they weren’t looking for me to go out and get concrete and pour the pad.  Jack was on his way from the airport and we were going to go from home to pick up Jason to do a ‘guy’ thing for his birthday.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.  Sweet words.

Jack arrived home for a nine-day holiday visit, but with little time to rest from a long day of travel.  We drove to pick up Jason and headed for Joughlin’s Hardware, an old style hardware store in Painesville with all the great stuff any handyman liked to peruse.  We drove him there, handed him $150 in cash and told him he couldn’t leave until it was gone.

On the ride home, we stopped at Lowe’s where I was told there were still a few Christmas trees.  That had been two hours ago.  I stopped a clerk in the garden section and asked about trees.

“I think we have one left up front,” she said, indicating the door through which we’d just entered the store.  I couldn’t help but think it must have been pretty small.

“Yup…one left,” she said, grasping the tree and holding it up for us to examine.  It was about the size of the one in ‘Charlie Brown’s Christmas’, but I’d been to two other places and no one had any trees.

“It’s five dollars,” she said.

I was shocked at how little they wanted for it and blurted, “Five dollars?”

“Alright, alright…you can have it for three,” she said.

And so I loaded the tree into the glove box and headed for home.  I was sure I could get at least one strand of 25 lights on it and maybe half a dozen of our special ornaments, but that would have to be determined.  So much for procrastinating on tree purchases.  I’d learned another valuable, life lesson.

Bike duration:  60 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  850.

Shopping or shopping Sherpa...

Monday, December 21, 2015

I have been giving cousin Donnie a hard time regarding shopping over several blogs and it’s only because I can.  He is a good target and makes for excellent fodder for my imaginative writing style…so I will continue in that vain. 

I went to do some shopping with Holly for the kids and reached the following conclusion on the subject.  If you are only pushing a cart and not really part of the decision making process, you are simply a shopping Sherpa.  If, on the other hand, you are weighing in on decisions about colors or softness or how things might look together, you are either a girl or a man soon to be losing your ‘man card’. 

We took a hay delivery at the farm, but it was only about 225 bales.  I stacked and carried and really got a workout.  It was cooler, but the sweat was flowing freely before we finished.  I’m so happy for hay deliveries because of both the light, intellectual conversation and banter between me, Steve and Eli – the two guys making the delivery, and the fact that I get paid for a good lifting workout.  The boys are always interested in my dating life, sure that I’m fulfilling their sexual fantasies and dating many gorgeous women simultaneously.  I don’t want to burst their bubble, so I play along.  They think I’m the hot, city slicker to their farm boy, aw shucks persona.  I let them have it their way.

Twelve Twenty...

Sunday, December 20, 2015
I was driving down the hill in Willoughby to Daniels Park when it occurred to me that I had been driving on that very hill forty years earlier and in a blinding snow storm with my Best Man, Herb, in the front seat and Alaska Paul in the back.  We were looking up the far side and couldn’t help but notice several cars off the road in the ditches.

“I don’t think we’re going to get to the church this way,” Herb said.

“Just go.  I’ll get out and push us up,” Alaska Paul chimed from the back seat.

I thought better of it.  I reached the bottom of the hill, turned the car around carefully, and retreated the way I’d come, taking the longer, but safer route through downtown Willoughby.  We made it to the church with ten minutes to spare and so started a wonderful marriage of 39 years.

It is all so different now.  Holly has moved on and I have been forced to evaluate my life and steer it in an entirely new direction.  It has taken two years to right that ship, but I feel I am heading steadily on a course that will fulfill me in ways different, but maybe even better, than they otherwise might have been.  I hope she is happier with the life she has chosen, but we each are responsible for our own happiness and I am making mine.

I ran out to the farm to push up the manure pile and to be sure my work of the previous day…the hole from hell…had not collapsed or filled with water.  It hadn’t.  I drove home making plans for a spaghetti dinner for the family and once I had it loaded in the crock pot, chose to board the trainer and put some time in on the bike.  I managed a sweaty hour before dismounting and spending some time exercising the dogs.

The calls of cancellation started coming in and I found myself having a family dinner alone.  A co-worker had suggested I come to a candlelight Christmas service at a church in Cleveland Heights, so I decided I had time to fit something different in.  I cleaned up as best I could and drove to the church after dropping Copper off back at Savannah’s.  I pulled into the lot recognizing the building from a service I’d attended there many years ago.  My friend Kimberly and her daughter, Hilary, were getting out of their car as I arrived and we walked in together. 

It was a very unique service and like nothing I’d ever attended before.  Much of it was done with a simple preaching by Tony, the minister, explaining the true meaning of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and how we are all God’s children and made in His likeness and image and enjoy His unconditional love.

I bowed my head in the darkened room and thought about how I’d been in a church almost to the minute forty years earlier and taken sacred vows with Holly.  Tears sprang to my eyes as I contemplated what I had just heard about being a Christian, forgiveness and unconditional love.  I have work to do and I know it.  Forgiveness is a powerful healing tool and one I’ve not availed myself of entirely in this process.  Though I have totally forgiven Holly, I still have problems with another in the equation and, of course, myself.  We are none of us perfect and must walk the path of life in the knowledge that we will often get it wrong.  Admit, forgive, move on.  I will look to achieve these things…with the help of God…in the year to come.
Bike duration: 50 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 135 bpm.
Calories Burned: 640.

Digging holes...

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Let’s just say I skipped Friday because outside of some shopping and a reasonably active day at the farm, I didn’t do anything worth reporting in an exercise blog.  My shopping was done alone and out of Christmas necessity and though I did enjoy it at some level, I don’t think I’ve achieved the Nirvana that my cousin reaches when he’s out with his wife, Vicki, on similar excursions.  Maybe someday…

I was in Kleifelds before eight and being introduced to the new waitress, Sonia, by Andrea as she poured my coffee.  She’s a very pleasant lady, but if you don’t have your hand over your coffee cup at all times…and mean ALL times, she WILL find a way to refill it.  Personally, I like my cup to be at least three quarters empty before refilling.  Otherwise, the sugar is diluted to the point that I can’t rightly figure how many packets to add to get it back to the appropriate sweetness, which is something that keeps me awake nights searching for the right formula.  Anyways…keep your hand over the cup.

Neither Cecilia nor Bob could join me, so I left for the farm to meet our plumber.  We would be jackhammering through the Tack Room floor to tie a new 3-inch drain line from our new industrial washer to the existing drainage system.  He arrived 90 minutes late with the typical excuse.

“That damned truck is really frustrating me,” Chris said.

“You’re running an hour and a half late the weekend before Christmas is really frustrating me,” I said.

“Yeah…umm…sorry about that,” he said as we hooked up the jackhammer and began pounding out the floor.  Several hours later we had about twenty tons of gravel parked on the floor outside of a hole that reached down into the bowels of the earth. 

“There’s the tie-in, John, but I’ve got to stop now.  I’ve had four emergency heating calls in the last hour (it had snowed and he’s an HVAC man, as well) that I need to take care of.  We’ll get on this first thing Monday morning,” he said.

“Define ‘first thing Monday morning’ for me if you could,” I said.

“Oh…eight o’clock for sure,” he said seriously.  I knew better.

I went to the park for a short hike, stopped at BJ’s to pick up some salmon and then headed home for the evening.  I had Copper and Dakota waiting on me and knew it would be another night tucked away at home.  I decided that I needed a fire to accompany my dinner and a Netflix movie and with the dogs curled up on the floor, did just that.  Sometimes nothing to do on a weekend night can really be a good thing.
Hike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm.
Calories Burned: 350