It's been an absolutely gorgeous Saturday. Even now, at 2:30pm it is only 69F. My favorite kind of weather. This picture above isn't mine because the weather today was partly sunny and delightful. :)

Off to the graveyard I went this morning for an hour run with Moogie. A hawk was circling over head, a cool breeze was blowing - simply perfect. My back-porch thermostat said that it was 52F when I headed out, that's the best temperature to run in. In fact, studies have shown that marathoners run best and have better times when the temperature is around 50F. I know that I wasn't even pushing it and yet I shaved 1 minute off my time for the first mile and 4 minutes off my total run which meant I had to go a little extra distance to fill up an hour. There's something about crisp, cool air that makes running so easy. Moogie wasn't even pulling obnoxiously today.

One particular area of the graveyard caught my notice today - an area of plots where quite a few people seemed to have died in 1919. I am assuming that it was the Great Flu Pandemic, but I plan to get the county history book and check it out. I have wondered how the strongly the pandemic was felt in this area, after all 50 to 100 million people were stricken dead worldwide. What terrifying times those must have been! A good history of that tragic time can be found in Gina Kolata's book Flu.

I came home and quickly got cleaned up. We had planned a drive out to The End of the Commons General Store today and I didn't want to disappoint the girls. Blue skies, puffy little clouds, smiling faces - it was a great drive through the country. Once at the End of the Commons, I stocked up on some bulk goods - flaxseed meal, carob chips, dates, tapioca, cinnamon, stone ground wheat flour...and old-fashioned clove drops. They carry the best doughnut mix, too - which I had to buy to make for a treat. Best of all, they now have birch beer. I haven't had birch beer in years upon years. My Aunt Helen used to own a small "mom n' pop" style grocery store in Edwardsville, PA. She always carried the best penny candy AND birch beer.

We drove home, munching on beef jerky and Muenster cheese cubes and decided to go a round-about way to pass Mike Tyson's mansion. It had always been immaculately kept, now it sits - gates locked - but in disrepair. The grounds are overgrown, weed spring up through cracks in the pavement and it has taken on the look of a wild jungle. Here's what an old news article said about the home, "The 25,000-square-foot home ... features zebra-striped carpeting, a 10,000-square-foot indoor pool, several bedrooms and 10 garages. The home was built in 1980. The asking price for the 22 room home is $3.5 million. A neighbor says he hopes some one buys it soon. He says since Tyson left the area in 1999 no one has taken care of the property. "

Got home in time for Rhianna to get picked up to help set up for her friend's Sweet Sixteen party. I'm going to get out the ingredients and make a quiche for dinner. After that gets going, it's time for some P90X yoga.

Good things:

Marc's - In my neck of the woods, there is an awesome discount store called Marc's. You never know what you'll find. Yesterday, I bought Rhianna some Old Navy jeans for $5.00 and I got a sports bra that sells for $35 at the mall for $2.99.

Sutter Home Fre Non-Alcoholic Wines - I don't drink alcohol (coming from a family with alcohol issues, some admitted, some not, staying away from it is a decision I made years and years ago). That doesn't mean I don't like the taste of wine. Normally, non-alcoholic wines are cheap, fruity tasting concoctions, nothing more than grape juice with a fancier label. Not so with Sutter Home's Fre. The Merlot is fabulous and I have a bottle of the White Zinfandel ready to uncork. Mmmmm.

St Pauli Girl NA and Beck's Prost are two great non-alcohol beers, Beck's Prost being a dark lager. In a pinch, O'Doul's Amber is alright.

~o~

I just got the mail. You may have heard a piercing shriek resounding through every valley in North America. My insurance and mortgage escrow nightmares continue. I'm not going into this in detail but I do not recommend American National Property & Casualty Company (ANPAC) to anyone. They will surely screw you up, as will the idiots at my mortgage company's escrow payments department. AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!

I'd go for another run if I could to rid myself of all the pissed-off-ness, but I gave my thighs such a hard workout yesterday I don't think it would be a good idea. The stinking insurance company's main customer service lines aren't open until Monday.... Yes, I need that yoga...NOW.