Trails for Two

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:
Maybe Kevin needs to rig a deadman switch on the tractor, so the thing shuts down if Marty passes on to his reward while out plowing the back 40. You know, for the tractor's sake.  

Oh trust me...we've had these discussions.  Most of our tractors are rigged with GPS with Auto Steer now.  That means that they go straight once they are set but you do still have to turn around at the end of the row and then put them back on line.  An alarm reminds you when you are getting close to the edge of the field...just in case you nod off or are playing on your phone.  That only works if you're conscious though.  Marty has strict instructions to make sure he's not headed towards Willow Creek Canyon, one of the BPA power lines, or a home when he decides he's had enough.  In all seriousness, when we were learning to drive tractor and teaching our kids to drive tractor, the motors would die if they hit something relatively solid.  Now they are so big and powerful that they would just keep going.  Pretty scary and has altered our ability to involve the grandkids at a young age.

I imagine it would be pretty scary. I don't think many people realize how much technology goes in to farming, but how else can you explain those laser-straight furrows across hundreds of acres in the countryside? Those bad boys can't be cheap, though. Maybe you could set up one of those invisible fences like they use for dogs around the perimeter of the fields? Or the things they use to keep roombas from tumbling down stairs? Anyway, that's an aspect of farming that most people don't consider. 

Fewer hazards in the editing field, though I do remember hearing about some poor editor who passed away at his desk on a Thursday and was found the next Monday. He apparently didn't move around much when he was working usually, and people thought he just hadn't changed his clothes, I guess. It was a book publisher, if I remember right; most of us newspaper folk are much more garrulous and hyperactive than that. They'd notice if I suddenly got quiet. 

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:We downsized when Shannon went to college.  We have a condo in Cleveland on the lake and a townhouse here back in Atlanta as i missed all of my adult friends here and I was generally alone in Cleveland.  My daughter has a room here in Atlanta (although she lives in her own apartment) and honestly does spend a great deal of time here.  The two houses are worth what our big house was on its own - lol.   I like the smaller digs and not having to mow the grass - but then again, I do miss having a bit of green space.

Hey Michele! 

How'd Shannon take losing the family home when she went to college? Alec hasn't made a lot of noise about it, but at one point he asked us to stop talking about it around him, so it clearly is something that's crossed his mind. Of course, he's said he doesn't know when he's going to be able to come back to visit (his band schedule complicates Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks), so we're not sure how eager he is to visit. It's a weird time in our life. 

Even so, we're trying hard to keep Alec in our thoughts as we look for a possible new home. It needs to be able to work as a place for him, as well, even if it's only on summer breaks or for visits. It complicates the process, but I don't think we'd really want to downsize all the way down to a one-bedroom place, anyway. 

As for lawn care, yeah. A little green is nice, but I've been tending lawns and yards for quite a while now. It'd be nice to have the break, if only to not feel guilty when I let it go a little longer than ideal. 

Our plan is to go out tomorrow and get a closer look at those three units I linked earlier. We're not really ready to put our house on the market, but FOMO is starting to set in for things that are out there now, and who knows where that'll lead.

One upside is that Alita's back at work now that school's started, which means I'm getting up at 5 and needing to find something to do after I get her off to work and before I have to head to work at 9. I almost went for a run yesterday, but I ended up trying to remove years of limescale from the shower doors instead. Maybe I'll make it out today?

Barefoot Run: 30 minutes

I did it! I finally got out! It's the second day of the new school year, so I'm up much earlier, which gives me fewer excuses to avoid this. I decided to head out barefoot, since my toes have been begging for some stimulus for a while now. 

I started off with a 5 minute walking warmup and used my HR monitor to keep from getting too carried away. The road felt good underfoot, if a bit gritty, and I could feel some fatigue building about 20 minutes in. I went back to a walk at 25 minutes and headed back home at about 30 minutes.

All in all, it felt good. A few parts of my body are going, "huh? what?" but other parts are going "Oh BABY! YES!"

I'll take that as a good sign.

Mark B wrote:Barefoot Run: 30 minutes

I did it! I finally got out! It's the second day of the new school year, so I'm up much earlier, which gives me fewer excuses to avoid this. I decided to head out barefoot, since my toes have been begging for some stimulus for a while now. 

I started off with a 5 minute walking warmup and used my HR monitor to keep from getting too carried away. The road felt good underfoot, if a bit gritty, and I could feel some fatigue building about 20 minutes in. I went back to a walk at 25 minutes and headed back home at about 30 minutes.

All in all, it felt good. A few parts of my body are going, "huh? what?" but other parts are going "Oh BABY! YES!"

I'll take that as a good sign.

What a run report??

Hope to see more of the same now that you've got some free time in the morning.

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:Barefoot Run: 30 minutes

I did it! I finally got out! It's the second day of the new school year, so I'm up much earlier, which gives me fewer excuses to avoid this. I decided to head out barefoot, since my toes have been begging for some stimulus for a while now. 

I started off with a 5 minute walking warmup and used my HR monitor to keep from getting too carried away. The road felt good underfoot, if a bit gritty, and I could feel some fatigue building about 20 minutes in. I went back to a walk at 25 minutes and headed back home at about 30 minutes.

All in all, it felt good. A few parts of my body are going, "huh? what?" but other parts are going "Oh BABY! YES!"

I'll take that as a good sign.

What a run report??

Hope to see more of the same now that you've got some free time in the morning.

Nah, it's fake news. 
However, in the small chance that it's true, .

It's true! And baring my soles to the street was good for the souls of my feet. 

I felt it a little yesterday - a small stone bruise from a piece of gravel I didn't manage to avoid - and that old familiar feeling deep in my legs that tells me I put just enough stress on the system to start stimulating a positive adaptation. 

I'm going to skip today and hopefully get out again tomorrow. We're having a dandy thunderstorm right now, which is rare for this part of the world. They're pretty tame by Midwest and Texas standards, but the thunder did wake me up before the alarm. 

Alita wants to keep parity with me, and it's been hot the past couple of days (97 both days), so I set up what was once Alec's portable a/c unit in the room with the treadmill so she can use it in comfort. I think it's set to 61 degrees right now. 

The only downside of this is that I have to be very careful to not get the shower floor dirty again...

Mark B wrote:It's true! And baring my soles to the street was good for the souls of my feet. 

I felt it a little yesterday - a small stone bruise from a piece of gravel I didn't manage to avoid - and that old familiar feeling deep in my legs that tells me I put just enough stress on the system to start stimulating a positive adaptation. 

I'm going to skip today and hopefully get out again tomorrow. We're having a dandy thunderstorm right now, which is rare for this part of the world. They're pretty tame by Midwest and Texas standards, but the thunder did wake me up before the alarm. 

Alita wants to keep parity with me, and it's been hot the past couple of days (97 both days), so I set up what was once Alec's portable a/c unit in the room with the treadmill so she can use it in comfort. I think it's set to 61 degrees right now. 

The only downside of this is that I have to be very careful to not get the shower floor dirty again...

Sounds like you're approaching your return to running smart...good decision!

And it's nice that Alita is trying to stay on track as well.  It will be fun when you can get back out on the trail together.

Odd weather isn't it!  We also had an early morning thunderstorm but it was quite mild.  A thunderstorm this close to carrot harvest could be devastating.  And the reservation hasn't been on fire all summer...although I did hear a small fire got started yesterday.  Hopefully they'll contain it quickly.

Enjoy your run tomorrow.

nkrichards wrote:Enjoy your run tomorrow.

Eep! Peer pressure! 

Okay, fine. 

Low HR Run: 30 minutes

Weather: Overcast, muggy, 65° Gear: Topo Fli-Lytes.

I opted for shoes this morning, which expands my range and lessens my self-consciousness.

I took one of my standard routes and followed my low HR protocol. I aimed for about 138 bpm and walked when terrain pushed the HR up above 145. I did push it a little up an upgrade toward the end, but only for a short period. 

It felt pretty good. The average pace, including walking warm up and cool down, was exactly the same as Wednesday.

Average HR: 128; Max: 158

Good job on that r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-run!

On the 3 links you provided, I guess it all boils down to sell-ability, when you want to sell it.  That deep garage would appeal to me, but going up 3 flights to pee is a buzz kill.

What's odd is the two on Columbia have a higher HOA pmt AND you pay to park the car(s), whereas the Fairwinds Loop HOA is $160 less a month, more sq feet, carpeted bedrooms, and free, enclosed parking.

Ah, house hunting.  Just be sure to have a room for Nancy and one for me.

Thanks!

The two complexes are very different. The Fairwinds is more of a classic apartment complex, done townhouse-style. The Columbia Street condos are in a mid-rise building in the city's core, with one side overlooking the oldest public park in state, which has become the city's living room. The sunset view from one of the units is very nice, indeed. That building's HOA includes all utilities except a pittance for electricity. Heat, water, sewer, trash, cooling is all provided -- something we normally cough up a couple hundred bucks for at our current domicile. The Fairwinds HOA is lower but only seems to include garbage service. We think. It's a bit opaque.

Also, we looked at these units (and a fourth) last night and are about to rule out the Fairwinds one. It's a good floor plan, but that unit had gone through some fairly serious abuse or neglect over the years. It'd take a lot to get it shipshape.

Mark B wrote:Thanks!

The two complexes are very different. The Fairwinds is more of a classic apartment complex, done townhouse-style. The Columbia Street condos are in a mid-rise building in the city's core, with one side overlooking the oldest public park in state, which has become the city's living room. The sunset view from one of the units is very nice, indeed. That building's HOA includes all utilities except a pittance for electricity. Heat, water, sewer, trash, cooling is all provided -- something we normally cough up a couple hundred bucks for at our current domicile. The Fairwinds HOA is lower but only seems to include garbage service. We think. It's a bit opaque.

Also, we looked at these units (and a fourth) last night and are about to rule out the Fairwinds one. It's a good floor plan, but that unit had gone through some fairly serious abuse or neglect over the years. It'd take a lot to get it shipshape.

Gotcha.  I'd be curious to know if any of the Columbia units allow Air B&B on the units.


Separately, is Alec with the band for the trip to Houston to play U of H at NRG stadium (where the Texans play)?  I think the game is Sept 13, Friday.  It'll be low 90s, but the roof will probably be closed at that temperature.  The Astrodome is very close to NRG.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Thanks!

The two complexes are very different. The Fairwinds is more of a classic apartment complex, done townhouse-style. The Columbia Street condos are in a mid-rise building in the city's core, with one side overlooking the oldest public park in state, which has become the city's living room. The sunset view from one of the units is very nice, indeed. That building's HOA includes all utilities except a pittance for electricity. Heat, water, sewer, trash, cooling is all provided -- something we normally cough up a couple hundred bucks for at our current domicile. The Fairwinds HOA is lower but only seems to include garbage service. We think. It's a bit opaque.

Also, we looked at these units (and a fourth) last night and are about to rule out the Fairwinds one. It's a good floor plan, but that unit had gone through some fairly serious abuse or neglect over the years. It'd take a lot to get it shipshape.

Gotcha.  I'd be curious to know if any of the Columbia units allow Air B&B on the units.


Separately, is Alec with the band for the trip to Houston to play U of H at NRG stadium (where the Texans play)?  I think the game is Sept 13, Friday.  It'll be low 90s, but the roof will probably be closed at that temperature.  The Astrodome is very close to NRG.

Alas, the CMB (Cougar Marching Band) only travels to bowl games, and to the Apple Cup when they play the hated Washington Huskies.

This weekend is their big debut (and by big, I mean BIG; it's one of the largest bands they've fielded ever).

Don't know what the CC&Rs may say about AirB&B - especially since they were written long before those new fangled things came around, but I can't imagine the homeowners association would be happy about it.

Oh, and while we may not have a room for you, we'd be happy to put you up. There's plenty of room on the balcony, provided you don't walk in your sleep. That first step over the rail is a doozy.

As long as it has an outlet for my cpap machine, I'm good. Maybe Fluff plus the other will enjoy a night on the veranda.

Bummer about the CMB. Guess it's a studies thing, not money. Is Alec enjoying it, so far?

ounce wrote:As long as it has an outlet for my cpap machine, I'm good.  Maybe Fluff plus the other will enjoy a night on the veranda.  

Bummer about the CMB.  Guess it's a studies thing, not money.  Is Alec enjoying it, so far?

He says he is, yes! He sent us a note after band camp saying how glad he was that he signed up for marching band - that it's given him a lot more connections than he would have had otherwise, and a lot more things to do. Woot!!  

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:As long as it has an outlet for my cpap machine, I'm good.  Maybe Fluff plus the other will enjoy a night on the veranda.  

Bummer about the CMB.  Guess it's a studies thing, not money.  Is Alec enjoying it, so far?

He says he is, yes! He sent us a note after band camp saying how glad he was that he signed up for marching band - that it's given him a lot more connections than he would have had otherwise, and a lot more things to do. Woot!!  

Hadn't thought of the 'connections' part, but it surely would give him those throughout his 4 years.

Lots to catch up on here...

I guess it's good that you have the luxury of taking your time house hunting.  You're not on a strict schedule to move quickly for a new job or having to get out of your house.  Pros and cons to every option I guess.  It's expensive to buy/sell/move so spending time looking is a good decision...and probably fun for you and Alita as well.

Glad to hear that Alec is enjoying school and band.  I agree that the connections he'll make through band will be helpful as he transitions.  My kids all participated in activities outside of the classroom during their years in college that lead to the creation of friendships that continued well after their years at school. 

Enjoy your holiday weekend...

Low HR Run: About 30 minutes, with Alita

Weather: Mostly cloudy with some sun, muggy. 67° Gear: Topos.

Out for the first run with Alita in quite a while. We did about 30 minutes, with some walking. I went at a slower pace, which kept my HR down even lower than usual. Next time, we may try alternating more walking and running as we start to get our conditioning back.

Average HR: 118 (including walk); Max HR: 143

nkrichards wrote:Lots to catch up on here...

I guess it's good that you have the luxury of taking your time house hunting.  You're not on a strict schedule to move quickly for a new job or having to get out of your house.  Pros and cons to every option I guess.  It's expensive to buy/sell/move so spending time looking is a good decision...and probably fun for you and Alita as well.

Glad to hear that Alec is enjoying school and band.  I agree that the connections he'll make through band will be helpful as he transitions.  My kids all participated in activities outside of the classroom during their years in college that lead to the creation of friendships that continued well after their years at school. 

Enjoy your holiday weekend...

We had a chore-filled weekend, with more cleaning, painting, caulking, etc., as we try to get the house shipshape. I was also on call for work, so I had to keep up on happenings and write a couple of stories. So not much of a holiday weekend. Oh well. It was my turn.

It's weird to be thinking about selling/buying moving without having some external force driving the process, like a new job. It gives us some flexility, which might work to our advantage as we shop around. It's also helpful because we've got so much stuff we can/should do before putting our house on the market. Then there are the questions, like, what happens if we find the perfect place but have to put our house on the market in a week as part of a contingent offer? Or, what happens if we sell this house and the place we thought we were going to get falls through? Rent? I'm not sure what scares me more -- rent prices in this market, or the idea of packing and moving twice. 

We got out for a run today, which was nice. We need to keep at it to make it a healthy habit.

Mark B. wrote:
We got out for a run today, which was nice. We need to keep at it to make it a healthy habit.

+1  Key words in this post...we and run...

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B. wrote:
We got out for a run today, which was nice. We need to keep at it to make it a healthy habit.

+1  Key words in this post...we and run...

The thing about the perils of where to go is your buyer may not need to move in because THEIR house hasn't sold.  If the case, your buyer would let you rent your old house for an agreed upon time.

Things happen and there's a LOT of cold, hard cash out there by investors wanting to rent out the house to someone.  So, Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmm.

ounce wrote:The thing about the perils of where to go is your buyer may not need to move in because THEIR house hasn't sold.  If the case, your buyer would let you rent your old house for an agreed upon time.

Things happen and there's a LOT of cold, hard cash out there by investors wanting to rent out the house to someone.  So, Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmm.

Oh, that raises a whole potentially infinite series of complications.

We can't buy because we haven't completed the sale of our house.

We can't complete the sale because our buyer hasn't sold their place.

Our buyer can't complete the sale because their buyer hasn't sold their place.

Their buyer can't complete the sale because THEIR buyer hasn't sold their place.

Etc., ad infinitum. Maybe looping all the way back to us not being able to buy because ...



Thanks. Lots more to ponder.

Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmm.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:The thing about the perils of where to go is your buyer may not need to move in because THEIR house hasn't sold.  If the case, your buyer would let you rent your old house for an agreed upon time.

Things happen and there's a LOT of cold, hard cash out there by investors wanting to rent out the house to someone.  So, Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmm.

Oh, that raises a whole potentially infinite series of complications.

We can't buy because we haven't completed the sale of our house.

We can't complete the sale because our buyer hasn't sold their place.

Our buyer can't complete the sale because their buyer hasn't sold their place.

Their buyer can't complete the sale because THEIR buyer hasn't sold their place.

Etc., ad infinitum. Maybe looping all the way back to us not being able to buy because ...



Thanks. Lots more to ponder.

Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmm.

nkrichards wrote:

Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmmmm.  Ommmmmmmm.

It's Ounce's fault. He raised the idea that somebody buying our house (eventually) might be waiting for someone to buy THEIR house, which creates a potentially endless (if unlikely) series of complications. So making calming meditative noises seemed like a good idea. 

I may have been mistaken. 

Barefoot Run: About 30 minutes

Weather: Partly cloudy dawn, 60 degrees. Gear: Bare tootsies.

Out a little earlier this morning trying to avoid the elementary school bus stop crowd as I did barefoot laps around the block. Watching a middle-aged barefoot guy padding by is either inspirational or creepy, and I'd rather not have them call the cops on me. So... earlier it is. 

The run went okay. I had to walk down my HR a few times, thanks in part to the rolling nature of my neighborhood. I know that'll level out (the HR, not the neighborhood) in time, so I'm not concerned. 

Average HR: 128 Max HR 149. Walked first and last 5 minutes.

###

One extra note: Alita smacked her pinky toe into a piece of furniture the other night, so she's on the DL just as we were getting started again. Augh! Hopefully it's just bruised and battered and not broken. Cross your fingers!