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We had a terrific weekend! Very productive and still very relaxing.

Friday: Susan enjoyed “beer time” with co-workers after work. Traffic wasn’t bad on the way home. Brian stocked up at the grocery store and even picked up a few extra items from around town. We made spicy fish stew (think Portuguese influence) with salmon and watched a combination of home improvement shows and dog/owner training shows to relax and unwind.

Saturday: We got up at our own pace. No plans, no alarm clock. Susan had a nice chat with her Mom. We went for a 16 mile bike ride, explored some new area around West Newbury. If we ever decide to move to a castle, we now know where there is one with a gorgeous view. The temperature was cool and comfortable. While we had warm muscles, we decided to do a Martina workout. Go us! We walked around town, looking at book shops and picking up a few things at CVS. We cooked out on the grill (we are loving the grill). We drank lots of peach mint iced tea. We sat outside on the patio. Brian mowed the lawn. We decided to move the office to the walkthrough, to see if we can make better use of the space. (We’re tossing around ideas of a master suite with a 2nd full bath, which would consume the office.) We got the desks moved and both computers working again.

Sunday: Banana smoothies for breakfast, Susan went to church. Brian started rebuilding the computers and working to backing them up with one another. We got all the paperwork and files out of the office. Brian moved the air conditioner from the office to the rumpus room. Susan sponge-mopped the office floor and then put on a layer of tung oil since the floor was all clean and open. We decided to escape the fumes by taking a 10K run. We stretched and cleaned up. We bought wedding presents on line. Brian kept working on the computers. We cooked out again. (We discovered that if we marinate and grill a package of chicken chests on the weekend, we can enjoy salads and sandwiches all week! The past two weeks were sesame ginger garlic marinade. This week we’re trying fresh lemon and cracked pepper with olive oil.)

All in all, we got a lot of good stuff done, we got to hang out with each other, we ate healthy food, and we had a lot of fun together. Best of all, the house is in great shape. It wasn’t just a home run, it was a Grand Slam weekend, and we’re ready to tackle the next week.

Starting weight: 215
Ending weight: 215

Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Martina workout
Monday: Martina workout
Tuesday: Bike 40 minutes
Wednesday: Martina workout
Thursday: Hike North and South Kinsman
Friday: Rest

On Thursday Brian Hone and I hiked the Kinsmans in Franconia Notch. I hiked North Kinsman in 1999 with Chris and Tenille, but I didn’t note whether or not we continued on to South Kinsman. So, I had to go back so I could add South Kinsman to my official list.

The day was dry and a bit breezy so we were moving at a good pace. We hiked up to Lonesome Lake and took the Fishin’ Jimmy trail up to Kinsman Pond. A final push to us to a ledge on North Kinsman with a spectacular view of Franconia Ridge. We popped over to South Kinsman and headed back to the ledge for lunch.

We were intending to head down the same way we came up, but at the Kinsman Pond junction we took a wrong turn. About a mile later (and several rolling hills) we consulted our map and noted instead of heading down towards Lonesome Lake we were headed over something called The Cannonballs over towards Cannon Mtn. We pressed on and took an alternate route down. Our detour probably added 1.5 miles and 600 to 800 vertical feet to our hike. Once we got back to the car we had a good laugh about our little detour. Brian kept claiming he “remembered this part of the trail” until the map decided otherwise.

All in all it was a fun hike with a great view at the peak as a reward for the long, wet slog from Lonesome Lake on up and I can now officially count South Kinsman as #21 on my list. I think Brian had as much fun as I did so hopefully we can hike together again soon. Brian took the pictures today so I’ll add links as soon as I get copies from him.

The beans have sprouted! (Of course, I took a photo of the best bean sprout – but at least half of them are up, of both varieties.) The garden needs water (it was a dry week and I was in San Diego) but so far all the plants are looking happy.

I have my first rose blooms of the season too. I need to spray this plant with soapy water to get rid of the little green bugs, which has been successful in the past. This rose did nothing last year, but it’s making up for lost time. The climbers are taking off and have lots of buds but no blooms yet.

Starting weight: 218
Ending weight: 215

Saturday: Walk 45 minutes
Sunday: Run 30 minutes
Monday: Martina workout
Tuesday: Run 40 minutes
Wednesday: Martina workout
Thursday: Hike Carter Dome
Friday: Rest

I knew good things would happen. I controlled portion size very well while in Indiana and had a good week eating healthy foods at home. Combine this with consistent exercise and my average weight came down 3 pounds this week. Hurray!

10.2 miles + 5 hours 15 minutes + 3800 feet of elevation gain = Carter Dome (and Mt. Hight) as my 20th of the 48 4000′ peaks in New Hampshire.

I started along the 19 mile brook trail, hiked up to Carter Lakes, and then did the incredibly steep ascent to Carter Dome. I normally consider about 1000 feet of elevation per trail mile to be a moderately steep ascent. The hike from the lake to Carter Dome was about 1600 feet of elevation gain in only 1.2 miles. Carter Dome itself doesn’t have great views, but after hiking north on the ridge I was happy to discover Mt. Hight does. After hiking over Mt. Hight I returned to the car via the Carter Dome Trail. Pictures are available here.

The weather was fabulous although it was a bit hazy which shows in the photos. The views from Mt. Hight are absolutely amazing — 360 degrees including some Maine lakes, the Carter Range, and the entire northern presidential range including Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines.

Brian and I traveled to Indiana this past weekend for a once-in-a-lifetime event: celebrating a 70th anniversary. To put this in perspective, Brian and I have been married 61 months, less than 1/13th as long. The people who make up those traditional themes for each anniversary stop at 60. My grandparents, age 88 and 91, were married June 6, 1937 (at ages 18 and 21).

A big shindig doesn’t seem appropriate for #70. My parents took G&G out for a nice lunch on the actual day, then went to visit cemeteries in Winchester and Salamonia where their parents are buried, since they didn’t make it over for Memorial Day. They told stories and visited “old stomping grounds” on the way (like Rufus Nute’s house, not to be confused with Rufus Snoot). On Saturday, Rich and Sarah drove over from Indy, Brian and I had flown into Fort Wayne, and we all assembled at G&G’s place for lunch.

I asked about their wedding day, since they don’t have any pictures. They got married in the parsonage in front of the fireplace in the living room, at 8:30am, with one other couple attending as witnesses. Grandma got a new dress for the occasion but not a “Wedding Dress”, and Grandpa wore a suit. They went to church after the ceremony, and then honeymooned in Michigan for a few days. We also reminisced about their 50th anniversary – what had changed in the last 20 years.

Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa!

Starting weight: 218
Ending weight: 218

Saturday: Martina workout
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Martina workout
Wednesday: Bike 45 minutes
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Walk 45 minutes
A decent week overall. Monday was an unscheduled day off, but I worked out Tuesday and Wednesday so I didn’t let the routine slip. On Thursday we went to Indiana (update on that fun trip later). We were busy running around doing various things and enjoying visiting with Su’s family but managed to work in some nice long walks with her parents. I did run Sunday but that will end up in next weeks report.
When I travel it’s very easy to revert to bad eating habits, but this time I found it much easier to control portion size which made a huge difference. I’m seeing a difference in my weight already which I can hopefully maintain until Friday so I have something happy to report.

I really enjoy gardening. Getting my hands in the soil, being outside, and seeing plants grow is good for my soul. As usual, between the weather and my schedule, I didn’t have time to do much out in the yard/garden until June. The good part is that it’s safe to plant everything by now.

First I went to the garden center to pick out plants for the window boxes, and picked up a few extras in case Betty hadn’t had a chance to drop off any flowers for the planter at church. Then, I headed over to church for our clean-up day. At one point, Ken and I were mopping, Vicki and Barbara were wiping down the pews, Amanda, Jack and Ellie were cleaning the window sills (eye level for 2 1/2 and 5 yr olds) and base boards while Duncan mowed the yard and trimmed back the fence line. The sanctuary was sparkling and smelling very nice by 11:30. Betty had indeed brought some impatiens, so Vicki planted them while I did some trimming. We were all done right on schedule at noon.

Being already quite sweaty and dirty, and knowing it would rain later in the afternoon, I jumped right into planting the window boxes. I got coleus, dusty miller and salvia plus two big red geraniums for the pots beside the door. I was putting away my trowel when I noticed that the yard could use mowing. So, I got out the mower from the shed and got pollen dumped on my head from the tree. So I cut back the low hanging branches so the door could swing clearly, then mowed the yard. I thought that I really should plant the garden, so I hoed the three sections to turn up the soil, and planted our basil, tomato, green beans and mixed salad greens. Then I started weeding the patio area which had become very overgrown with clover and grass. I had noticed there were a lot of pine cones in the yard when I mowed, so I started raking them into the brush pile, then I thought perhaps I should start cutting up the brush and putting it into yard bags so we could take them to the town compost site. Finally, I saw that I had one package of seeds left, so I went ahead and planted cosmos and Grandma Hume’s sand dollar seeds in the raised flower bed by the kitchen, and I’ll just see how they do there. By 4:20, I decided that I was sufficiently tired and blistered, and I should call it a day.

Here are some pictures of the window boxes:

Starting weight: 217
Ending weight: 218

Saturday: Hiked Mt. Jackson
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Martina workout
Tuesday: Run 40 minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Martina workout
Friday: Bike 55 minutes

My exercise routine went pretty well. I didn’t need too much motivation to get out and workout. My eating was definitely poor this week, though. Sunday was spent grilling many, many meats and drinking beer with Dan and Nate. Wednesday Su was at a Sox game so I got lazy and ordered pizza. Other than those two events, things went pretty well. I’m not worried about the weight now. When I start working out regularly I stop craving sweets and fats. I’m starting to have that ‘I want to eat healthy’ feeling, so the weight should soon follow.