Jumpin' At The Woodside

Checked out the Wachovia Pro-Am today, held each year prior to the first round of tournament play at Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte. With Tiger not in town, I noticed a lot less celebs than participated last year. Most notable this year were NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson and the Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox. Coach Steve Spurrier was also here, but didn't spot him. Don't know the ladies posing with Jimmie in the photo below, but that was my best chance at a snapshot of Jimmie when they asked for his photo. Phil Mickelson Sergio Garcia Vijay Singh Jimmy Joe Pete with his fav golfer Luke Donald (orange shirt) Jimmie Johnson Coach John Fox

A small thunderstorm moved through earlier this evening, but not before I moved some earth away from the house. This project had been a long time coming. Last year I removed some timbers that rotted, but the soil and mulch they enclosed remained - as you can see in the Before photo below. The tools for this project were simple yet effective - one shovel, one wheel barrow and one human, that would be me. Yes, I realize I just referred to myself as simple and a tool in one statement, but if it made you chuckle so be it :~) Before After many trips with the wheel barrow, a couple glasses of water and one tired human later, I relocated the soil, mulch, rocks, bricks and roots elsewhere. After Needless to say it's definitely Miller Time, or rather, this evening it's... Shipyard IPA Time! I had some beer from Maine when I visited The Monkey last weekend, and had a hunkering for more brew from the great state of Maine. It always reminds me of trips to Maine, and especially a road trip...

Good Friday evening to y'all! Got seat confirmations this week for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) & Black Crowes show at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Oh yes, they are pretty darn good - Section A5 Row 17! I adjusted the image below to approximate the seat location. Looking forward to hangin' with Ol' Lazy Acres! Not much doin' this Friday evening at The Woodside. Enjoying a Stella Artois and just enjoyed an ACID C-Note on the back porch, these are the same small cigars The Monkey and I smoked on the most recent New Years Eve. Quite a bit warmer on the back porch this evening than in December. Reached 80 degrees here today, and with many of the leaves out, feels like summer is almost here. Salud!

ACID Cigars Chandon

... at Timmay's Woodside. I was greeted this evening by a rainbow over the familiar Woodside horizon upon my return from my northern travels. I had a great time up north and good to see everyone. Unfortunately, it's back to work tomorrow, but at least it's a short week!

Dad and I at Triple A action, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs vs. Toledo Mudhens. The Pigs lost, but still a good time... bratwurst with sauerkraut & mustard, draft beer and fireworks after every Friday night game... priceless.

Like a plane circling in preparation for landing, I find myself in my hometown anticipating my latest summer yet. Seems like life presents a set of circumstances we can handle, but then life also enjoys its moments of upheaval. We're forced to find another gear, so to speak, to handle the latest situation you never saw coming. You could say that's where Darwin's Law comes in -- only the strong survive. I think you can relate life to many things, but I prefer to relate it to running... you're heading down the road and a hill presents itself. You can keep going, but I feel the need to do more. To not just get over that hill, but to find the next gear and crush that hill into submission. - Salud!

The deer were back this morning. They are usually winter visitors in the early morning fog, but this is the first time I've seen them in the spring and the closest they've gotten. In the photos you can see they actually came up to the backyard before running back into the woods. It's always kind of bitter sweet when I see them. As much as I enjoy seeing their activity, at the same time I wish they were somewhere outside the city limits where they could roam far away from us crazy humans. In Other News... I went to see the national touring version of the Broadway musical Wicked last night with Lago. We had dinner at Cantina, an excellent Mexican restaurant that serves fresh guacamole made right at your table. *** WARNING - Spoiler Alert, stop reading if you don't want to know the show's outcome. *** I must say the show was excellent, very uplifting. All I really knew about the show was that it was about the witches from "The Wizard of Oz" and how they met ...

Got the new license plate today, woohoo - or should I say Eh Hee! The plate represents two of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs, "Eh Hee" and "#41". Of course with a new plate on the back, I needed a new plate for the front. Both of these arrived today - can you say Saaaa-weeeeeet! So, want to know more about these Dave Matthews' songs, check out the videos below. - Salud! The Story About "Eh Hee" "Eh Hee" performed by Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds "#41" performed by the Dave Matthews Band

Came home this afternoon to find new grass sprouting up in the backyard. I am very excited about this because the backyard was a wasteland of ivy before I decided to pull it out last year. In case you forgot... - The Archaeologist - The Shed - Ruthless Ivy Killer I'll need to be careful in my grass cutting this week, but I can't let it all go. It's getting long and gots critters back there. This morning I saw a hug opossum run through the yard, the size of a small to medium size dog!

Just wanted to pop in and say a quick Happy Friday to y'all! Big storms moving in here tonight, just saw a lightning flash. Not much doing this evening. Got a run in today. Don't normally run on Fridays, but I was rained out last night. I picked up a scale yesterday and looks like with my running I've lost about 25 pounds! I weighed about 225 in 2006, and this past November at the doctor I was 218. Today I come in at an even 200 pounds! I mostly notice the weight loss in my face and neck, not to mention my belt is literally holding up my pants! Hasta lasagna folks! Almost forgot, I'm enjoying a Fiddler's Green IPA this evening. Very nice and hoppy as IPAs should be. - Salud!