Taking a break from the Lillys…

to focus on the beautiful Iris of spring!  Lilac season  has passed and the current floral fragrance scenting my evening run is lily of the valley, but what’s really feeding my visual senses are irises.

The irises this year – they have been spectacular!  Maybe it is just because mine are finally doing something after settling in for the past 2 years in my parking strip flower patch, but I don’t remember ever seeing such a glorious array of iris varieties as I have noticed this spring.

The rain is kind of beating these beauties down a bit, but I console myself by cutting the ones I find lying horizontal and bringing them into the house to admire.  Here they are for you to enjoy -

Happy Friday!

Done with Mother’s Day

Yet another benefit of drinking – flower boxes!

Screw Hallmark – as far as I’m concerned, May 5th was my ideal Mother’s Day. No matter what happens next Sunday, I will cherish the day I had, from the scandalously late start to the fortified-with-an-afternoon-nap late ending – perfect! Let me be a little more specific…

Saturday night, I shot a SEEN gallery down at Prime 677.  The occasion was a fundraiser for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and it was a lovely event.  The food was spectacular and the folks at Empire Wines rallied the troops to put on an extraordinary wine tasting.  It’s been noted by some astute Times Union readers that whenever an event involves wine, I’m usually there.  Guilty as charged.

I got home from the party working at about 10:30 only to find my little guy desperately upset that he had been denied a ‘s’more from the neighbor’s party, a situation I was able to correct with a soothing shower and some ice cream.  Tucking him in at such a late hour gave me the first gift of Sunday – he slept until 10:00, which gave me an incredibly quiet morning.  Soft music, strong coffee and the paper comprise my personal morning bliss trifecta.  So far, so good.

After the boys departed at noon for their Dad’s, I got busy in the front yard with mulch and some annuals.  The sun was glorious, birds were chirping and the simple joy of getting a little dirty made my heart sing.  I had a mid afternoon visit from the person I most love spending time with and the day moved along at a pace that was completely enjoyable.  I accomplished some other chores, including eating a fantastic lunch salad, and punctuated the afternoon with an indulgent nap on clean sheets. But, wait – there’s more.

Caesar salad with shaved Romano and grilled asparagus

As the day cooled down a bit, I tied on my running shoes and hit the streets for a 5-mile lap through the neighborhood.  I had intended to go a bit further, but contented myself with not pushing myself too hard and tried to just enjoy myself.  Done.  A shower, a quick visit with the neighbors for a glass of wine and then home again for finale of the only reality show I would ever want to be on, The Amazing Race, and I was in bed by 10:15, thoroughly relaxed and satisfied with my day.

There weren’t any tulips or handmade crafts, but nonetheless it was a lovely day with a wonderful mix of boys, friends, productivity, relaxation and good food and wine.  Mother’s Day 2013 is a done deal, as far as I am concerned.  Any additional gifts are truly unnecessary, although I do have a fondness for the imperfectly made card along with a hankering for a French lilac bush.  Just saying.

A love letter to Belleayre Mountain

This is my happy face.

Maybe it is because this was the first place I ever truly skied.  Perhaps it is a result of the stunning panoramic views in every direction.  It may be because of the friendliness of every staff member I’ve ever encountered.  Or, it might be because of the all-things-considered reasonableness of the price of a lift ticket and rentals.  This past Sunday, the spectacular weather was definitely a factor.

Whatever it is, I absolutely love Belleayre Mountain.  If you know me, you are aware that my general expectation is not “perfection.” I actually find it to be a bit overrated as a measurement.  Yet, Sunday, I heard myself saying “perfect” an uncountable number of times.  It truly was a day of skiing that I will have a hard time ever matching, much less surpassing, regardless of how many seasons I revisit those slopes.

Why was it so special?  Well, the drive south was beautiful, as winter and spring continued to switch places for a few days.  Getting my equipment and lift ticket was a breeze, and I was on the chairlift within 20 minutes of parking my car.  The snow was soft, the sun was blazing and the sky was blue.  I was traveling light (sans boys), hanging with Aloysius and his next generation, and feeling absolutely giddy on sunshine and life.  To all of you who weren’t there – I’m sincerely sorry you missed the opportunity to feel the joy of gliding down a mountain with the warmth of the sun on your back.  Or the simple happiness of a tasty beer sipped al fresco midway down the slopes.  Bliss.

Upon my return to Albany, the only way I could possibly punctuate a day that glorious was with a terrific dinner at the Capital City Gastropub and my first TasteeFreez visit of the year.  It may not get any better than this, but, no worries, I’ll continue to keep trying.  Kisses – Silvia

That would be a sundae – with nuts.

Cross country love

Trails beckon…

Despite the fact that the conditions were dangerously icy yesterday and I fell multiple times, jamming my thumb really hard once and landing on my ass hard enough to create a bruise that I almost felt compelled to name, I absolutely LOVE cross-country skiing.  If you haven’t given it a try because you mistakenly believe it to be for old, slow people, you, my friend, are sadly mistaken.  We’re at the point where we need a new snowfall to get the conditions back to where they had been for the past couple of weeks, but my own skis are in my car for the duration.  There is no better time to be had than tooling around Albany Muni Capital Hills with a couple of friends and a flask filled with homemade limoncello.  That is upstate winter living at its finest!

View from a lower trail

Snow goddesses abound!

Spectacular sunsets, too!

Holidaze 2012…

A dozen images, 12 words, one great Christmas season.

steamy

hot

radiating

candlelit

majestic

lexi

apples

joy

silvery

velvety

glittering

shiny

Snow job

Today, without a doubt, was the best cross-country skiing I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy in the past 2 winters.  The company, the conditions, the lighting, it was all perfect.  The only thing that ever so slightly marred the afternoon was an exchange we observed between a couple as we headed up a hill following our loop through the back nine. We decided to climb one of the steeper hills rather than remain on the slightly groomed path that skirted around the golf course.  As we duck walked up the hill, we watched a mom climbing up the hill with two sleds in tow, one of which had a cute passenger of about 3 years-old. As she steadily made her way up the hill, a man, comfortably ensconced at the top of the hill, yelled down to her.  Words of encouragement, you might assume. Or, perhaps, an offer of assistance, right?  No, it wasn’t either of those things he was conveying.  What he said, repeatedly, was “You can’t do that” followed by “You know you can’t do that, don’t you?” I honestly don’t know if it is a function of my age or my personality, but I was immediately pissed.  How dare he tell her what she was and was not capable of doing?  Was she somehow internalizing his lack of confidence in her?  How were those boys she was shepherding up the hill processing the man’s skepticism in her ability to help them to reach the top?  I stared daggers at the guy as my friend and I not-so-quietly talked about what an ass he was.  Screw him.

Full moon run – at last!

image: http://blog.timesunion.com/outdoors/category/bikes-and-biking

Months after I first aspired to it, I finally found someone available and willing to take a longish full moon run. We got lucky with the weather as well as the brightness of the moon and had an inspiring,  awesome run.  Let me share the experience and challenging route we mostly enjoyed.

We left my place in the  DelSo, headlamps alit, and went south down Delaware Avenue headed towards  the Normanskill via the yellow brick road.  Now, in the dark, this “road” is treacherously uneven, but we were in it for the moment, not necessarily the number of minutes.  At the bottom of the hill we picked up the dirt road which led us to a transformer station.  We hung a right there and ran along the perimeter of the large grassy field, a path I’ve only done in the opposite direction.  After orienting myself, we picked up the trail to the back nine at Albany Muni – naturally in the hardest uphill part.  Thank goodness we were reasonably “fresh” because this is a really intense series of hills and we were pretty satisfied later when we looked back at our pace, a respectable 6.15 mph.

After a quick pitstop at the Clubhouse, we made our way to New Scotland Ave, and eventually to Whitehall Road which brought us back to my house.  All told, it was close to 5.6 miles and it was everything I had imagined it would be.  And I can’t wait to hit it again.  Who’s in?  P.S. I strongly recommend timing this run for the evening before one’s monthly massage appointment.  My calves and quads appreciated the tiger balm rub down much more than the uphill pieces of the run.  Just trying to keep all of me happy!