Sue, with your sparkling eyes and contagious smile

We’ve loved you being with us all the while

We’re gathered here today to honor you and Brian

For all the things you say and do

Behind the scenes, all the work

Never a duty did either of you shirk.

Composing letters, phone calls, always always lots to do

And, God love Brian waiting patiently

Keeping track of what you were doing and where you would be.

Both of you such a joy and help to us,

Doing things quietly, without a fuss

I knew when I met you that first day

We would be friends, and that will stay that way.

Sue, you joined the cantata group

We were surely one heck of a troop!

A lovely voice, you love to sing

Our concerts, joy, to many people did bring

And all the events we planned came out fine.

With your hectic schedule you always found time.

I know you and Brian entertained at home

Your cooking skills were really well known.

Being loyal to a small church is a hard thing to do

But we always knew we could count on you.

Brian, a wonderful quiet guy

Was our Treasurer and a great one was he!

A good thing they didn’t pick someone like me…

I can’t add one and one and have it come out two;

That wouldn’t be good for me or you.

We all worked the suppers and fairs, A lot of work for all

But we put out best feet forward and really had a ball.

Now, circumstances have changed and you will move away

We really love you both and wish that you could stay.

Our thoughts and prayers will be with you

No matter where you are,

whether near or far

May God and our blessings go with you!

Love, Pat Sayward, January 29, 21012

The first measure that comes to mind is miles. Brian has been logging his miles on the road (950 miles biked, 575 miles on foot) and meters in the pool (60km) this year. I’ve run over 370 miles since June, when I started logging miles in my new running shoes, and “miles” is the third most used word in my facebook posts in the last year. This training was motivated by 5 races each – a 12K, a half marathon and a 10 miler before Brian’s two triathlons (sprint and international distances) and my 25K and marathon. We also have driven quite a lot of miles, between our July trip to the midwest and our holiday four-state tour (about 2000 miles per trip) and my 38 mile commute each way to work (I put on about 20,000 miles a year on my car). The number of days carpooling was lower than it probably should be – a good reminder to make a better effort to share rides in 2010.

We ate local for 27 weeks this year courtesy of our farm share, with some additional support from our garden, our family’s gardens and Tendercrop farm. I’m sure I can’t count how many bunches of Chinese cabbage we ate – too many! We’ve eaten out less, have spent less money, and have eaten healthier than in many past years, plus we know where more of our food originates.

Dollars recovered comes to mind when I think about my year at work. When I took over a new project in April, it was projecting a $1M overrun by the end of this year. I’m very proud to say that we are now on budget, we’ve got some excellent results from our recent flight test, and we’re expecting our next phase to start in January. While there have been plenty of challenges, in many ways this year has seemed very easy from a work perspective. I couldn’t ask for a better team of colleagues at BAE Systems, on the government team or with our subcontractors, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know and work with them despite a fairly rough business environment overall.

We could count hours volunteered. Brian has continued as a legal advocate at the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, spending a few days each month at court, and also volunteering at the office to set up a database, work on files and do legal intakes. My work at MIT continues at a lower level – I’m on the IRDF board, am serving as a Community Catalyst Leadership coach and president of the WILG corporation board. Then we’d add on hours spent by Brian as our church treasurer and by Susan on grant applications and meetings and newsletter articles… perhaps we shouldn’t count.

House guests at the Juddmansee B&B is a fun metric! Dan Sheldon is in the lead for naming rights to the guest room at this point, but Mary Obelnicki is a close second. Isaac Sheldon came to visit us for the first time for Brian’s birthday, which was great fun. Brian’s Mom and Grandma drove out and stayed with us for almost a week. These are just a few of the folks who have stopped by. We love having friends and family visit! There is no way to measure the joy and love of our friends and family.

How do you measure a year?

I’ll point out that this race is the reason we moved to Newburyport, and a contributing factor in our marriage.  I first ran the race in 2000 when we were training to run a marathon.  A friend from church was also training for a marathon, and he suggested the 10 mile race for its unusual length (between a 10k and half marathon), its picturesque setting, and its reasonable distance from Boston.  I ran well and appreciated Newburyport for its bustling downtown, fantastic architecture and proximity to the water and the state park.  Later that year Brian and I drove up to Newburyport on a date, explored town, and eventually decided to buy a place there and get married, to make a long story short.

At any rate, we decided it was high time to run the race as Newburyport residents.  We made sure to hydrate well on Tuesday since it’s notoriously hot on the last Tuesday in July at 6:30pm.  This year was no exception – 85 degrees and humid at race time.  Our initial plan was for me to run hard and to do a real time trial, and for Brian to hang back and run a more relaxed race due to the sweltering conditions.

They didn’t bother with a chip-adjusted start, so our first mile came in at 8:02 even though clock time was about 8:22.  Barb and Grandma Hume cheered for us from the Mall as we ran past.  We kept up the pace for the second mile as well, largely pulled along as part of the 1500 runners for the 10 mile race (another 2500 ran the 5K).  Around Mile 3 we settled into an 8:17 pace, about what I wanted to run on average for the race.  Mile 4 starts a long slow incline; Brian pulled ahead during what turned out to be my first of a series of failed attempts at drinking water.  By halfway through the 4th mile I was getting chills and feeling no sense of competitiveness – not a great sign.  During the 5th mile I focused on getting some water, losing all momentum up the hill in order to hit the water stop and consume the 8 oz, and clocking my slowest mile at 9:11.  I shuffled along during mile 6 at about 9 minutes, by which time Brian was no longer in sight, and finally felt normal at Mile 7 when I was able to resume a reasonable ~8:30 pace.   Either the shade,  the rural setting, or the water finally kicked in, because I managed to finish the race strong and holler a greeting to Joe and Marybeth (new Newburyport residents sitting on their front lawn, friends via Brian and Heather Kennealy).  My last zippy mile was just over 8 minutes, for a total time of 1:25, averaging an 8:30 pace.  Brian kicked my butt, coming in 3 minutes faster at 1:22, a sub-8:15 pace.  No surprise, his rigorous training is working!  After the race we jogged home and ate a quick dinner before falling into a very sound exhausted sleep.

Wednesday those who didn’t have to work enjoyed walking around town and playing cards, while I had a productive day at the office between my early race-inspired departure Tuesday and taking a day off Thursday.  Thursday morning we got up early and drove to the Berkshires for a day of sightseeing.  Although the train was not running, we still had a fun day at the Normal Rockwell Museum, lunch in Stockbridge, a river walk in Great Barrington, then getting stuck in traffic.  Oh wait, the driving was the less fun part because we had torrential rain on the way there, topped by extreme rubbernecking and a car in a tree on the way home.  We still considered it quality family time though – plenty of conversation and reminiscing and joking.

This blog is already long, so I’ll summarize from here.  Friday there were sidewalk sales and more cards and a trip to the CSA (and more working).  Saturday we ventured to the Nubble Light and did a walking tour of Congress Street in Portland. We topped off the weekend with fireworks on Saturday night, and outdoor worship service on Sunday morning, and the big parade on at noon.  Throughout the week we had tasty dinners and enjoyed the dishwashing fairies who kept the sink clear.  Slinky had plenty of attention.  Despite his early concerns with someone moving into “his room” by the end of the week he was well accustomed to having more conversation and petting than any cat could hope to have, and was clearly distressed to learn that the nice ladies were not staying indefinitely.  We all miss our visitors and hope they will return next year, perhaps enticing Ken and Leslie to join us, for another fun week of summer New England activities.

I headed to Indian Hill Farm Reservation which is a 150′ hill tucked between a nice coutry road and a pond used as a local water supply.  My walk went up the hill, down to the water, along the water, and then back up the hill before taking the path back to the car.  It was quite muddy in the flat grassy parts.

The whole walk only took about a half hour but it was nice to get some fresh air and decent pictures on a gorgeous day.  The third picture didn’t come out quite as nicely as I had hoped.  From the top of the hill there is a clear view back into Newburyport about 5 miles distant.  You can see several church steeples and the new windmill in the industrial park, but in the photo the white features blended into the bright horizon.

Reservoir at Indian Hill Farm Reservation

Pumping station at reservoir

Looking toward Newburyport from hilltop

It’s been a beautiful fall in New England. The tree colors are very bright this year and cover a whole spectrum of greens, yellows, and reds. While I was outside checking on the last of the tomatoes in the garden (and the first of the peppers which are just now large enough to pick) I noticed our own maple tree. Our tree is usually only one color (yellow) and changes late (Thanksgiving). However this year it’s managed to turn early and in multiple shades.

Enjoy!

• Brian canned 7 quarts of fresh peaches, his first foray into home canning, with delicious results.
• FTSD’s awesome social chairs planned a kayaking trip to Hopkinton on August 22.  The weather was gorgeous and it was hard to think of any better way to spend the day than on the water.
• Brian and I hiked Mt. Carrigain August 23. 
• Brians Judd and Hone hiked Mt. Moriah August 24.  I am jealous that they saw 3 moose (a momma and two calves).  Someday I’ll see a moose.  I hope.
• Christopher Elliot Korka was born August 23, so I visited him and his adoring family on August 25 at Mount Auburn Hospital.  He is easily the youngest baby I’ve ever held, and was very cute and calm the whole time.
• Ron, Cara, Meredith and Bella visited Labor Day weekend (August 29 – 31).  We walked around Plum Island, did the Freedom Trail, hung out at home and explored Newburyport.  We made homemade pizza with our tomatoes, local basil and homemade ricotta (ok, it was supposed to be mozzarella, but it was still tasty, and made terrific lasagne later.  This homemade cheese thing is pretty nifty). It was so good to have them visit!  I hope to have a separate post once I get pictures together.
• Lori and I watched the Sox win Sept 3, a sunny afternoon game.  Another great reason to play hooky from work.
• The start of Football Season!  Sept 7 was a wonderful day.
• Emily K and I watched the Red Sox win!  (despite a bit of rain) Sept 12
• I found a new running buddy at work.  Soraya and I have been trying to get in a least 1 weekday workout, sometimes 2.  It’s really nice to have the motivation, not to mention someone to chat with and keep pace.  We are hoping to ramp up a bit before the snow flies.  I’ve easily doubled my mileage just having company.  Also having new clothes, a new stopwatch, and keeping track of our best 10K in NBport is a good motivator.  Brian and I keep upping the ante on one another.  The ball is in his court to beat 58:30 (taunt taunt!)

There are the highlights.  I hope to grab a few photos to add later.  Brian Hone has some great ones from their hike.