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New Pond Stuff
2006-06-27, 10:14 p.m.

Day 673 New Pond Stuff

Wow. Been a while. Interesting updates on some fronts, nothing changed on others.

New pond pump arrived. Smaller version than the one that failed. Only pumps 2/3 as much water per hour. Upshot is that the water falls aren�t quite full as they were previously. I may piddle around with it this weekend and see if I can�t make some adjustments to return the falls to their former glory (yes, glorious 15� high water falls), but it will require shutting things down for a day or two. We�ll see.

We now have a third hardy water lily. The first one (now perched in the center of the pond) has been popping out blossoms pretty regularly. Interestingly, the flowers vary quite a bit in color. Some come out looking a pale lemon shade, while others appear much more peach toned. All from what I believe is a single plant. The second lily, is named N. Almost Black (the N. being the genus or species name, which I can�t recall at the moment) I think the guy at the pond nursery told us the flower was an intensely deep purple, hence the �Almost Black� name. Finally, after 6 weeks, we have one humongous blossom perched right at the surface, ready to pop. Now the weather forecast is calling for rain for the next 4 days. Which is cool really because, the blossoms open fully in direct sunlight. On most weeknights, by the time I get home, they�ve closed up for the day. So with the cloudy weather, maybe this one will hold off till the weekend and I can snag a picture or two.

The new lily looks like it will have screaming pinky/magenta blossoms. It has as many as 6 blossoms on the way, and it along the seams of the sepals there are leaks of that lovely, loud pinky tint. Ought to be a real treat once it opens. Again, the weather may set it up nicely for weekend blooming. It would be really cool if all 3 blossomed simultaneously. I might just have to go wading to get some decent shots.

Also popped in a couple of new fish. Eric�s favorite- the jumbo orange fantails. They seem to have integrated fairly well. No obvious signs of harassment like there was for that one poor redcap. That was brutal � like kids on a playground.

Oh yeah � did another 5K race over the weekend. Did much better than the previous 5K and the 3.5 miler. Set out at a pretty reasonable pace and managed to keep it. Actually ran into an office mate there, and we ran the last mile and a half or so together. Bettered my previous 5K time by 1:10 and didn�t have the achy leg dealie gong on the next day.

It was kinda nice to have someone to run along with. Plus, he was sporting some fancy GPS thingy that kept track of pace (minutes/mile), distance traveled and even heart rate. Pretty cool knowing all that stuff. Unfortunately, one of those rigs will set you back over $250. Tell you the truth, I�d rather spend that on a new bowling ball and shoes. (yes, it�s not hard to spend over $150 on a bowling ball. Really)

Got lots of business accomplished with Bob over the weekend too. Got Power of Attorney forms signed, notarized & copied. I can now run off and spend all his money. Too bad he doesn�t have quite enough money for me to go run off & hide permanently. So I guess I�ll just have to straighten out his �investment� portfolio and manage it for his future needs. I can�t believe the wad of cash he has sitting in the bank, getting less than 2% interest. Pitiful. Even sadder that the bank doesn�t pick up the phone and call him, asking why he�s satisfied with such a terrible yield. I got his verbal approval for an easy, risk free CD plan that I can put into motion starting this weekend.

Kids are being kids � I don�t even try to keep up with them. Eric off to Syracuse to see his girlfriend every other weekend, she�s out here on the other weekends. Zach & Jill all acting like adults most of the time, behaving, having concerns about money for school and other adultish type things, then the next minute they remember they�re not quite fully independent yet and start cutting up like a couple of kids. I just look at them and remember how it was to be their age - in the previous century. Makes it seem so long ago.

Work is being rather insistent and it looks like lunch will end early toady. May have to finish this up at home tonight.

Ok � back at the ranch. One word of warning � don�t eat a big meal right before aerobics. Ugh. Good class though. Might have worked off a little bit of dinner at least. Zach & Jill hit up the gym too, but did time on the treadmills rather than aerobics. After aerobics I headed over and did another 15 minutes of running on the treadmills with them. Now they think I really am crazy � running like I did after aerobics (especially because I got on the treadmill, cranked it up to 2 mph faster than they were going, then kept up a conversation with them for a mile or so.

As we were headed out of the Y, we ran into the aerobics instructor � she and I did a little light hearted politicking to get at least Jill to start back to the classes. Don�t think Zach will ever do it, but he is interested in getting certified for the nautilus machines. Only 6 weeks of summer left for him, but at least he�s interested in getting started.

My favorite drunk at least isn�t drunk tonight. Hung over I think. Part of her cycle. Over the weekend she was sober, pleasant even. Monday � not so much. She gets to drinking, then complains about how I don�t do enough to take care of her father, while all she really does is drink too much and not accomplish anything at all. Can she not see what�s happening to herself? Must be in a deep, deep state of denial. She never did resume those psych visits � felt bad about spending $75 a visit � after insurance. So no help on that front either. I�ll just keep heading to the Al-Anon meetings, it ought to help keep my head straight at least. I can already see that trying to take care of myself (gym, races, aerobics, al-anon meetings) is kind of getting her resentful because I�m either not doting on her, or not drinking with her, or both. Plus she still doesn�t know that I�m doing the al-anon thing. Haven�t breached that subject yet. Eric knows I go, but he�s it so far. He�s also the most bitter about Cindy�s condition � he�s especially sarcastic towards her after she�s had a few.

Enough of that prattle. Time to post this rot and get to bed. I hear a bowl of low fat mint chip ice cream calling my name too. Nice way to cool down before snoozing. I hope.

More cheerful update soon.

Updated stats:
Weight start: 206.5 on 1/1/06 (265.0 on 1/15/05)
Current weight 186.75 on 6/19/06 (?!?)
Target: 180 by 7/1/06 (Riiiight � 6 lbs in a week? Who needs a spare left leg?)
Next �official� weigh in: 6/26/06

The Keep on Truckin goal: (idea stolen shamelessly from Marn�s Big Adventure)
Miles at speed 6/25/06: 494.94
Miles with cooldown: 545.27
Target for 2006: 1000 miles































Weighdown Stats
VICTIM NET LOSS TARGET WEEKS TO GO % OF GOAL
Brian 7.0 14 1.5 50.0
Sport 5 8 1.5 62.5
alison 7.0 8 3 87.5




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