Apple phones for the kids and NEVER leave lunch up to Daddy

Today I provided my kids with new apple phones. This is meant to scare the heck out of my beautiful wife. Never fear dear, I am no where near that dumb.

The kids started a game with carrots last night at dinner.  Ring-ring!  Carrot phone! Hello, carrot phone.  Today we had carrots and apples, so...  Ring-ring!  Apple phone!  Solid fun. And a much more economical way to get the kids apple phones.  Edible and good for you too.

As for leaving the dad to come up with lunch, you can make all kinds of excused to feed your kids crap.  Its easy.  My kids and I don't eat the same things.  Well, sometimes you should all have the same meal.  AND eat healthy.
Today's lunch consisted of carrots, apple with peanut butter (ingredient list: roasted peanuts.), pear, some leftover cold noodles (they eat everything else off the plate if they want them warmed up), broccoli and milk.  Heck yeah!  No complaining, just lots of eating and tons of great color in all our bodies. I feel good having killed off the plate on the right.  Full and healthy and not gross.

I love being a Dukesherer

Ghetto Roadie

I was asked what I meant about two things when I changed out the bars and stem on my road bike. What do I mean when I say that I have Californiaed out my hoods? And what did I mean by the ghetto bar tape comment.  Ah. Well here you go.

Californiaed out hoods.  The deal used to be that you would run the bottom of the bars as close to level with the ground as possible to set the bar in the right place for all the different places you would want to hold onto a set of drop bars.  Then you would make an effort to get the top of the hoods (that black rubbery part of the shift levers) as close to level as possible as well.  At least that is what I was told way back when.  When?  When this bike was new, that is when.
So lately people have been running the hoods more tilted back, because it is more comfortable.  Since I was changing out the bars and stem, it seemed like the perfect time to try it.  I will let you know if it works for me at such a time when I get to actually ride the bike.

As for the ghetto bar tape, you can see that the once white tape was pretty grubby and since I saved the tape from the previous wrap, you can see how funky (ghetto) it looks.  Pretty obvious that it is not new.  No?

Shaving

Sure this is a pretty boring subject to most, but I find some aspects of shaving fascinating.

To explain, I have to start with the gear. I use a mug, mug soap, and a brush to lather my face.

My grandpa Roy used a mug and a brush. I used to watch him shave in the upstairs bathroom. I would sit on the toilet (lid down mind you) and we would talk and he would shave. I can still see his face and hear his voice. Mind you this was 33ish years ago.

Well this morning I was about to lather my face for a shave when Gracie came rolling in to the bathroom.
"Daddy? Can I watch you shave?"
"Sure, pumpkin."
And I started wetting the brush... From outside in the hall, "Daddy, can we watch you shave too?"
"Sure!" An audience. Cool.
So I whipped up a nice mug of lather and showed it to Hank. I put a dollop on his nose with the brush and got one of those killer baby giggles, that you hear in the movies.

After cleaning the bar of soap and mug and brush, I shave using a regular safety razor. I like 2 blades and one of those neat strips on my razor.

But the best part is the three shining little faces, mesmerized by the whole thing. Staring straight at me. Daddy.

I love this job!

Perfect Weekend

This was the most bitchin weekend ever!

Why you ask was this such a great weekend? Well we got all the leaves up out of the yard. Yep, I hear you say, but what makes that so freaking cool? Well I will tell you why. We did all that work as a family.

Emma and Grace helped rake the leaves up in the yard and in the process made the largest leaf house known to man. I would estimate 650 to 700 square feet of prime leafy real-estate. Three bed rooms, 1 bath, a large kitchen with a breakfast bar and a large formal dining area. One big family room with an attached office and a "sitting and talking" room. You know the kind with no TV to distract people. Oh! And a massive sitting porch. Even a generous foyer with a private mud room off to the side.

After getting all the leaves pulverized and reduced about 15:1 with the crazy leaf vacuum thing that my parents gave us several years ago Grace and Hank and I all took killer naps (you see, raking leaves is exercise) while Margo and Emma headed out to church to learn more about First Reconciliation. You see Emma is preparing for her First Communion.

After everyone was back and or awake, we took advantage of some crispy fall leaves and lit a fire in the chimnea. Most of the time we end up not using the thing unless we have guests over, but Margo and I figured that we should make the most of a beautiful fall day and have some family time by the fire. So we chilled out by the fire and enjoyed each others company for a bit. Emma made the nicest sketch of the fire, Grace hung out on my lap, wrapped up in a blanket and Hank put Margo through her paces while she tried to juggle the wolverine. So fire is super cool (I covered this in my last post, I am pretty sure).

Sunday we got up late and rushed to get to church on time. We set the kids up with our expectations of "best behavior" which always helps. Hank, however, did not get the message. He tossed his pacifier two rows away and then proceeded to start blabbing during mass. Sure the sermon was a little long winded, but please! The people all around us were pretty cool. We sit in the front so the kids can see and stay engaged. It could some day go very wrong for us with this plan, but not yet, and I like it up there. No where to run and no where to hide. The most amazing thing happened to Hank and me while we were praying after communion. He was all over the place and being pretty loud, so I put his hands together and said in his ear, "Dear God, help me to be a good boy in church." No kidding, no sooner did I finish that sentence, than he calmed down, quit squirming and sat still for about 5 minutes. Very cool, no?

After church we got to spend time with our friends the Kessman family and eat doughnuts. Then we drop the kids off at Religious Education classes and head home. A very nice morning, indeed.

I had planned to go for some kind of ride on Sunday, so I set out to do some bike maintenance on the road bike. Since getting my Walt Works 18 months or so ago, my road bike has suffered some serious neglect. Truth be told, it never fit me all that well. So with the help of my friend Trucker, I have in part remedied the problem. Trucker gave me a 10 cm stem and a new bar to swap out for my old bar (which was too narrow) and my old stem (which was too long). I put that gear on the bike and somehow managed to save the old bar tape to reuse on the new bars. I put the brakes on the bars all California-ed out and up high the way all the cool kids and racer guys are running them now days (I have wanted to try this out for some time).

After Margo went to get the kids from RE, Emma asked me if we could go climbing. No bike ride for me but climbing with Emma is super fun. To be fair, she has been asking if we could go climbing for a few weeks now. I have to also admit, that I am not a very accomplished climber and I will need help from some friends to get comfortable in taking Emma climbing out doors on my own. One of the things that I have been wondering about, is how Emma would do on the approach hikes when climbing. So I decided that we could go do a hike to check out her legs on the way up to Table Mesa, a popular climbing spot near home in Golden. Emma kicked butt! She cruised up the 1/2 mile 460 vft rise to get to the base of N. Table like a champ.

Once we were up to the rock, Emma took some time to get a feel for the rock and do some light bouldering. We were only prepared for the hike and lunch together in the sun, next to the rocks, but since we were there, I let her get her hands on the rock to get a feel for it. She did a nice job of searching for holds and letting her hands explore all kinds of cracks and crevices as well as looking for big jug holds. She even played around with a couple of slopers for a while trying to figure out how to hold on.

After messing about on the rock for 15 minutes or so, we moved out of the way as some of the climbers in the area wanted to move in on the routes where we were bouldering about. We moved a short distance and found a sun warmed place where we could sit and enjoy lunch. Who doesn't like peanut butter and honey sandwiches? I snapped a couple of pictures with my cell phone (because I forgot to bring a camera) and because Emma was interested in having a picture that she could make a sketch from.The down hike was slippery and fun. But the lack of rain can leave a trail with a layer of powder that acts like a thin film of ball bearings. I slipped 4 times. Emma slipped once and stopped pee once. The whole down hike took about 5 minutes. Again, she did great. Next time we will make sure we have more time and some gear to boulder or top rope. With the weather changing to cold and snow, we may spend more time in a gym than outdoors, but that is good for her skills as well. Maybe we will invite some friends to a climbing party at one of the local gyms. Good idea!
Once we got home, Margo was able to leave for her massage at Masage Envy over in Belmar. That place is super cool and affordable.

While Grace napped, Emma got her computer time and Hank and I took some time to play in the yard. I am amazed at how fast little man is growing up. I find my self staring at the children trying to take mental snapshots and wondering at the same time if I will cry at their weddings. I looked at the gas powerd slinkey's hands until the image was burned into my mind of little baby fingers and the dimples over his knuckles. I know he is about to go through a growth spurt by some unknown method of dad ESP, so I needed to file that picture in my mind. The day so beautiful and playing with little man outside was a gift.

Just before sunset, Emma and I played a little back yard soccer. She beat the pants off me, out scoring me 3 to 1. The kid is getting good, I tell you.

After Grace and Margo got done preparring the homemade bread dough, we once more settled down in front of the chimnea. With the fire crackling (shooting 3 fee out of the top!) we talked and hung out together.

I love being a Dukesherer!

! Metallica !

So, no shit, I saw Metallica last night in Denver at the Pepsi Center. Righteous! You can get the whole set list here: MetOnTour as well as more photos of the concert and I am pretty sure if you want to buy the live show in MP3 you will be able to get that here within a couple of days.

So Manny called me one day to tell me he had tickets and ask if I wanted to go. Thanks buddy! Michelle and Johnny Payne (yes that is the guys real name) rounded out our group. Super great people.

Here is what I thought of the show: Lots of good old fashioned Metallica. Loved it. There were a few of the new songs mixed in, but not too many. I get the feeling that the shows will all be different, with a good shakeup in the set lists as the band moves around the country.

Lars, James and Rip still have it. Have what? That huge Metallica sound. Some kind of special, weird bond that puts them down on the same beat no matter what. Rock and roll in their blood. What ever it ends up being, its freaking great.

And did I mention fire? Fire. FIRE! You could feel it from where I was sitting (about 6 rows in front of the box seats)! Sweet! I love controlled explosions!

Most notable for me on Tuesday night was Robbert Trujillo. Metallica with bass again! So freaking good. Old school, playing off his knee, loving rock and roll good. Yah, sure, you knew about this guy. Blah, blah, blah. Well it has been something like 4 years since Metallica has played in Denver, so let me enjoy this.

Go if you can. Figure out a way, you won't regret it.

Rocking the Vote 2008

We had a nice visit from Sarah Palin on Halloween. She is a real trooper! Stumping right up to the end. It was a nice night too, so Sarah decided she could take some time and have a cup of coffee and hold a little town hall meeting with us. So cool.

Sarah took the kids out around the neighborhood for a little trick or treating and to be honest, she is a bit of a show stealer. I mean really, at least let the kids get to the door first! I know she needs to get people signed up to vote and she and John are hurting a little, but let the kids enjoy Halloween!

In all seriousness (not) the princesses had a great time and didn't end up too whacked out on sugar. The chickens even went to bed at a decent hour, sugar and all.

Get out there and vote, American, but only if you have some idea of what you are actually voting for. Vote early and vote often.