quick summary of the last two days

in about 5 minutes it will be tomorrow and 3 days since i last posted. funny but since we are back we have been going crazy trying to catch up with all we need to do and also to get ready for the next school year and everything else we need to have done given all of the travel coming up. biggest problem right now is still the basement as we cannot use it at all and have to try to avoid it actually while the asbestos and mold do their thing. will see what the "people" say this week when they come. also have the heating and ac guys coming as that system is downstairs also. add to that the storm damage to the roof and shutters and it was a fun thing to come home too. won't bother to list the long string of errands we have run and we have completed 20 of the 53 things we must do and that doesn't count just living each day or running, etc.

but no complaints. it is what it is and we will get it done i think. the cost of the basement was not exactly expected so that will change some things but hey- the plane didn't crash and eventually the house will be ok.

it is now monday and i am due at work in 7 hours as the golf job begins again. usually it is fun in a weird sort of way and i expect it to be again as they have the nicest people there but the timing could be better. still, the staff there have been very good to me and it is payback time.

the last two days of running including 9 miles yesterday on a slightly cooler day than friday and gail and i ran the east blvd loop and i added some extra at the end going down the path towards ft hunt park. always enjoy the loop around east blvd as i get to see the gardens of the wealthy and also run past the american horticulture center, which is right on the potomac river and always pretty. shame we missed the big spring sale we like to go to and i am hoping that they have a second sale in the fall like they do sometimes. the run was ok if not slow from the day before and the heat wasn't as bad but much worse than any day in oxford.

the rest of the day was spent cleaning up the house and garden while shopping for food and everything else and then hitting some balls at the range for the first time in days. made arrangements for several contractor visits and for the cars to have work done and inspections, etc. the new windshield will go in also next week, now this week i guess. have not seen or talked to anyone except don and got the one text from beth who was on her way to costa rico, evidently a little recovered from her most recent medical adventures.

gail has been going back and forth with emails to oxford regarding the house and the lease and the deposit, etc. a little messy right now as everyone remembers things differently. the management people and the landlord treated us so badly that it is hard to feel forgiving, but the two nicest people we sub let from deserve better and we will work with them to make it all turn out ok for them i hope.

has been nice eating at home and having some of the food we were unable to get in the UK. but tomorrow i will start getting back to race weight. today we were up pretty early and went up to the track to do some speed work, but there was a 7am soccer match so we got shut out and decided to drive to my vernon's track about 5 miles further away. was a little worried about the sun now as the temps were closing in on 90. with two checkups coming up in the next couple of weeks it is no time to get sunburned after being so careful for the last year. i do miss oxford's weather.

but the track was opened and there were a few joggers and several walkers there already as everyone is trying to go as early as they can to avoid the worst heat. i did a short warmup and ran 1.5 miles in 12:25, not bad for not much warmup and in the heat and after yesterday's run. then ran 2 more 400's in 1:50 and followed that up with 12 x 100 as the track was getting crowded with walkers spread across the lanes and it was not much fun running around them. i always love the i pay taxes and this is my track too like that covers the lack of track etiquette. they pay taxes when they are driving their cars also so i guess they can drive on either side of the road. plus as tax payers they get to pay for the track more often if they run down the inside lanes so the track has to be resurfaced so they can run their meets there. but i digress... not in an angry tone i should add, but more of an informative one.

anyway- we did the home depot, tj maxx and all of the other stores we needed to go to, weeded away in the lawn, collected about 9 bags of trash as we cleaned out everything on our way to more minimalist lives and i snuck over and hit some balls just to relax a bit and then home to do laundry and deal with the garden and the palm tree (a new addition) and the basement stuff , etc. all ok and i remind myself that it will be months before we are caught up.

and life goes on. more to say and i will rant later. i can see in retrospect how much of a vacation oxford really was and what a nice little routine i was in there. not here yet and this week with work and all of the contractors coming and the car stuff and then next week with the dr appts and hopefully no surgery we will fit in a new schedule.

did see some of the women's british open as we call it here, the open as they say there. sunnydale looks like a nice course and it was fun to watch great play on a pretty course. i will play golf again sometime i hope. the little practice i am getting in is helping and i am putting and chipping ok and getting used to the speed again while actually practicing on grass, though i have to remember not to feel like i need to rush home and work on the house. and i have not played yet but that will come i hope. too busy right now.

off i go- have had some nice emails from oxford. as easily as we can just get back into living here as we are in our own house and neighborhood and everything is basically the same as it was a year ago, there is something missing. i did buy the two books for the oxford bookclub and will be a long distance member for awhile as long as there are people who remember me still in the club and Cath runs it.

more soon- i can still get 5 hours of sleep if i hurry. the weather for the week ahead sounds horrible. who needs 100 degrees?