Publix – Savannah 5K and Half

My first foray into participating in timed run/walk events.  I joined with my walking friends Kathlyn and Merilyn and we signed up for the Publix – Savannah 5K and Half-Marathon.  Unfortunately Merilyn could not join us at the last minute but Kathlyn and I went ahead and decided to go anyway.  We weren’t sure about anything especially the timing as neither of us had done anything like this before.  We went to Savannah the night before, had a light dinner and set the alarm for early!!!  We were up before the sun, had a simple breakfast of yogurt and fruit and ventured off to find parking and the venue.  It was cold.  48F but there was hope that the sun would warm things up.  We found a great parking spot not too far from Forsythe Square and parked and walked to the where the race was to start.  We were so early that they hadn’t finished putting up the starting line.  We milled around getting a feel for the area and ended up talking to some very interesting folks.  One lady said she was walking on her two new knees and that she was 70 years old and didn’t expect to go very fast but she was in it to finish it.  Her daughter was running the half.  The most interesting thing she told us was that her daughter had quadruplets and ran the Savannah bridge race pushing them over the bridge twice in the time it took her to walk it once.  Not only that but her son has identical twins.  I don’t think we have gotten over the quadruplets part of the story.  The race had an on-time start and before we knew it we were walking at a really good clip.  The sun was up and it was warming a little bit.  The runners got out in front pretty fast but there were some joggers back with us as well as lots of walkers.  I was so pleased that we came in with an average of 16.21 minute miles – sustained for 52 minutes (it was a little slow getting going because of the crowd) and that at the end I felt I could have gone around again.  Nice medal and a really good feeling of accomplishment.  Now for a 10K!

 

Weather and our Four-Footed Family

We had some pretty exciting weather here in the south this past week.  Major storms came through here not once but twice.  Prior to the storms the air was very heavy and oppressive.  It really makes a person feel quite logy.  Often we don’t feel like doing anything and just spend time anticipating that the heaviness will go away if only the storm would clear the air.  It truly does become cleaner and clearer.  How often have you noticed how blue the sky is and the air is crisp after a build up of heat and humidity?  That was this week.  One thing about living on a golf course is that we have a warning system when lightening is close by.  The bad news is that one of the sirens is about 150 yards from our house which makes it impossible to ignore it when it goes off.  The siren went off quite a few times this week.  The lightening and house shaking thunder were quite spectacular.  Only problem was that this was in the middle of the night and it made sleeping rather difficult.  Our previous dogs hated the storms and would whine and pace the house.  It turns out that Winchester doesn’t seem to mind them at all.  He slept through them.  So did the kittens.  I did not.  The animals were a bit restless prior to the storms hitting but nothing really obnoxious.  They just couldn’t find a place to stay put at first.  Since the storms went through, the air has been so clear and the humidity level is way down.  The windows can be open again and the breeze can blow through.  We did have two days of big winds that followed the storms but no major trees down only minor branches and leaves.  Lucky us.’

The picture is taken looking out our back yard to the alarm which not only has sound but lights too just in case you can’t hear it.

Food, Friends and Fun

Not often do we have a large crowd for dinner but we did this past Thursday.  Our Foyer Group of 12 met here for dinner and John went all out with the food while I decorated.  You might see an Easter theme in the table decorations.  Our little house doesn’t have a lot of room for a sit down dinner for 12 but we have figured out how to make it work.  We ended up being 11 as one person had to leave after cocktails.  John made a wonderful shrimp and sausage gumbo which is the recipe that I will include.  Others brought appetizers, salad, dessert and wine.  When we were first married we often had gatherings that were potluck in style and I am glad to say that pot luck is back in style again.  It is fun to contribute and I have found that people really do go out of their way to bring something special.  A favorite cake recipe or an interesting salad that they wanted to try or an experimental appetizer.  It is a lot of fun and means a lot less work for the hosts.  We do try to make things as healthy as they can be and our friends brought delicious strawberries from our local “pick your own” strawberry patch – they also brought a yummy lemon cake to put them on.  John spent two days on his gumbo and I believe it is one of the best I have ever had.  We did order the special spice for Gumbo called Organic Powdered Gumbo Filé which is supposed to be added just as you serve the gumbo – but we forgot!!!!  It doesn’t matter, it was delicious anyway and we have enough left over that we can try it again and this time remember to put on the spice.

The big challenge was to keep the kittens from pulling the tablecloth and all the settings onto the floor.

 

[mpprecipe-recipe:79]

It’s Canada’s 150th so let’s celebrate!