Today, it’s my turn to cross over from my 40’s to my 50’s. Of course, as with all age milestones, Tammy beat me there… It’s a bit of a chaotic day thanks to it being a working Wednesday for Tammy and I, and Ian’s at school of course. Miranda’s off today, lucky her! Also adding to the chaos is that tonight I have a meeting to go to downtown as a captain of my Tour Alberta for Cancer team, so no chance for a proper birthday dinner. And this morning I took a couple of hours off so that I could do my “50 km for 50 years” ride, but then yesterday the wildfire smoke from northern Alberta closed in on us, so there was no chance to do that outdoors.
We got up, and Tammy and the kids worked on getting breakfast, cards and presents ready while I did the first part of my bike ride on Zwift. When it was all ready, I came down, had some breakfast and opened cards and presents. That would explain why I’m wearing cycling kit at the table. It was only 12.5 km of warmup, so I was still presentable.
- The carrot cake was a “preview” of my carrot cake birthday cake for Saturday. Delicious!
- The pillow was something that we saw at Sleep Country when we were getting the kids some new mattresses. They have whole mattresses made out of this rubbery material. I don’t know if it will end up being a success as a pillow, but I’m willing to give it a try. 😊
- Colin and Carol sent me an e-card to round out the collection of birthday cards, thank you!
After breakfast, I got back on the bike and continued my ride. I successfully finished 50 km, but I did it the hard way. I considered just getting into a pack and riding a flat circuit for 50 km, but I decided that my 50th birthday needed something more memorable than that. So I chose the “Tour of Fire and Ice”, which started at the volcano and descended into the jungle before climbing up the Alpe du Zwift. It took a little longer than I’d planned, but that was fine.
Miranda made a chicken and rice dish along with some bubble tea for lunch, which was awesome and much appreciated.
A couple more hours of work, then I’ll be on the train heading downtown. Hopefully the thing for the cancer ride is not too long. I would love to spend a few more minutes with the family today.
On the watch(es)
A couple of years ago, Tammy said that I should get a new bicycle for my 50th birthday. In the intervening time, the pandemic really messed up the worldwide bike supply chain, and bike costs have shot up and wait times have gotten long. I had to wait over half a year to get my gravel bike. I started a process of planning for a new bike last fall, but over the winter the motivation to do so dried up. I kinda felt that it was still the wrong time to order something expensive, just as the world was returning to normal and so was the bicycle world.
That left Tammy not knowing what to get me for my big 50th birthday. Right after her birthday, she decided that she would get me another watch. We went looking, and discovered two things. One was that the watch that Tammy liked and wanted to get me wasn’t very expensive. The other was that Bulova had announced price increases and we could get one at the older, lower price.
We had trouble deciding on the colour: there was one with black dial and one with a white dial. We hummed and hawed for a while before deciding to get the pair. A night watch and a day watch, as it were. The black was much dressier, and the white seemed more casual.
Tammy gave me the white-faced watch right away and I’ve been wearing it for months now, but I got the black one today. In the meantime, I got a steel bracelet for the white one and have been enjoying wearing that.
The watches in the box, L-R, top to bottom:
- Lorus Mickey Mouse quartz watch I bought when I was around 20. I don’t really wear it, but it was nice to give it a spot in the box.
- Bulova Sutton “President”, black dial (96A269). Automatic, open-heart with display case back.
- Bulova Lunar Pilot (96B251). High-precision quartz chronograph moon watch. Tammy bought it for our 25th anniversary.
- Timex Ironman. Much-loved. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
- Apple Watch Series 7, green.
- Bulova Sutton “President”, white dial (96A268). Automatic, open-heart with display case back.
- Bulova Marine Star (98B82). Tammy bought it for me graduating from UNBC in 2000.
Happy Birthday! 💞 I’m glad we were able to do a little celebrating and have a meal (with most of us there) today. The party on Saturday should be a blast (and a long weekend following in which to recover). 🥴 Love you. ❣️
Looks like the Birthday Fairy was very good to you!!!!
PS WHAT’S THE TIME????????
😂