Happy Birthday to Me

Well, double nickels times two.  Fifty five and born in fifty five.  Can't say that I feel any different this morning...although the day is young.  My sister is cooking my birthday supper - the usual list of familial suspects on the guest list.

November 8th is a pretty boring day in history.  Highlights, such as they are, include:

• In the year 392 Roman Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the State Religion
• In 1731 Benjamin Franklin opened the first public library in the Colonies
• In 1789 Bourbon Whiskey was first distilled from corn by Elijah Craig in Bourbon, Kentucky
• In 1923 Adolph Hitler staged the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch in Munich
• In 1942 the Allies invaded North Africa in Operation Torch

Yawn.

A pleasant weekend - cocktails on Friday with Dougie, Alison, Shelly, and Laura and an excellent crown roast of pork courtesy of Alison on Saturday.  Eric and Joan joined the party.

Yesterday I changed the cap on the chimney of mom's wood stove and cleaned the gutters which were clogged with leaves, twigs, and spruce needles.  Never seen so much fall debris.  But hopefully the worst is now behind us.  And still no sign of snow.  In fact the weather service has already posted a high wind/heavy rain warning for later this week when the remnants of some tropical storm is due to play through.  I would actually prefer a blizzard - just for a little variety.

In other news, mom gave away her 23 year old Honda Accord last week.  There was something seriously amiss with the steering - I think it was potentially dangerous - and it makes no sense to spend a dime on a car that old.  She gave it to her great granddaughter who has a fiance who is apparently handy with cars.  Mom may or may not get a new car next spring.  She wouldn't have been doing much driving in the winter in any event.

Finally, on Friday I did make it to Hearthside Books for cousin Sandra's book signing.  They had a good turnout.  Sandra said they sold about 85 copies.  Lots of folks standing around.  Pretty cool.  The authors legged-it over to Sitka for another book signing over the weekend.

 A labor of love I'm sure

 The proud parents

Dr. Lindstrom looked mighty pleased with herself!

Well, gonna fold some laundry and then head over to mom's for morning coffee.  Then a birthday workout.  I started lifting again last week after almost a four month hiatus and boy are my muscles sore. I've been diligent about the treadmill and my cardio work all summer but for some reason didn't feel like doing weights when I was in Anchorage.   Doesn't take long to lose muscle tone.  It appears that I lost about 20% of my capacity in many muscle groups.  The question being:  At age 55 can I get it back?  Sure gonna try.  Hah!