"We are prepared for insults, but compliments leave us baffled" - Mason Cooley

I did something I almost never do. I spent what is for us a pretty significant amount of money without talking to Pam about it first. But I was pretty sure she'd be OK with it.
While she was in MI I bought tickets to a July 12 performance of Damn Yankees by at The Shedd, the Eugene arts center. If you're not familiar with it, that's a musical from back in the days of Sound of Music, and The Music Man. It's not at all what the title might lead you to think. It's a comedy musical about a guy who hates the NY Yankees and makes a deal with the devil - his soul in return for his favorite team, the Washington Senators, beating the Yankees in the World Series. (Faust) The best known song from the musical is, "Whatever Lola Wants." Lead singers brought in for this, full orchestra, impressive staging....
I got good seats in the front row of the balcony.
When I told Pam about it she seemed pretty pleased. We'll have fun.

It's not 7 a.m. yet and this, without a doubt, is already the best thing I'll see all day. When this pic showed up on FB I posted a comment and Emily responded almost immediately. And that had me wiping my eyes.
JR just retired from 20 years of military service and they're headed out on a trip together as a family. One child, their oldest, is missing from this picture because she's in glory. I did Eloise's funeral about 7 years ago. I've written here about Eloise before, and Emily's perfect example of parental love for a child most (including me) felt very uncomfortable around because of her many serious birth defects, both physical and cognitive.
JR spent most of his time overseas in the intelligence service. That meant Emily was the sole caregiver for a child who needed 24/7 attention. Never was a mother more devoted or attentive. Emily, besides being sweet as honey, is the ultimate example of maternal love.
It makes me so happy to see the four of them together and headed out on a family adventure. The only thing I don't like is that they now live so far away and the likelihood of me seeing them again is too small.
So you'll not hear me criticizing Facebook. Especially not today.

Just finished dinner and it included beets and greens from our garden. Mmmmm.

I did five miles this afternoon. I feel pretty tired now but I pushed through and didn't walk a step of it. That distance represents a 25% increase over last week's long run so I feel good about my progress. At this rate a half marathon in late September shouldn't be a problem. I'll continue to try to add one mile each week, but as the distance increases that will represent a smaller percentage increase.

Stella is due to kid on Oct. 5 but tonight there's some indication she may be aborting. I'll know in the morning. Nothing can be done about it now so I'll just accept whatever outcome we get.
Sure hope she's OK.