Twenty-third posting - various

I don't know where to begin. Today was a momentous day, last week was a fantastic week, and THE TOUR DE FRANCE IS IN FULL SWING!

1) Today I signed my name a million times, forked over oodles of dough and officially bought a condo. I own a home. I have set down slightly more permanent roots here in CT than I ever thought I would. I already have a few words of advice to those of you out there who are considering buying-- (a) a cheap attorney will get the job done but you'll never really understand what's going on until it's over, (b) when your real estate agent tells you to call the electric company and have the electricity put into your name, listen to her or it will be turned off and you will not be pleased with yourself, and (c) if one of the most important attributes of a place is its wood floor, MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE that it is allowed. To point (c), I will state that the official condo documents are not completely clear ("Carpets should be maintained at all times ... with the exception of the bathroom and kitchen." To me, this meant that if there was carpet, it should be cared for. I was wrong, but I did convince the condo association to let me have area rugs...but it took all of my negotiating skills to get there.

2) Last week I spent with my family in heavily forested Northwest Wisconsin. Highlights were seeing a mama bear and 3 cubs right next to the cabin, running in the annual Musky Fest 5K and coming in top 15 (21:18), playing baseball on the lawn, fishing with Dad and hooking my brother in law, and for the first time, running 10 miles with my sister on her scheduled training run. For those of you who want to see the famous cabin on a lake, here's a link to the resort -- http://www.garmischresort.com/ .

3) I will end with the TdF, but what a great Team Time Trial! Of course, I don't think anyone thought Discovery would come in anywhere but in first, but it's too bad that the main excitement was for Dave' Zabriskie's bleeding wounds at the finish. Because I don't have OLN until the 15th, I'm forced to live online and watch/read. Blahh. After writing this, I may just see how much it would cost to get back to France for the mountain stages.. The next several stages are really for the sprinters anyway -- I'm just glad to see 3 Americans in the Top 5. Warm up the bus, Jan, it might just be time to go home.

Adieu for nieu, NATHAN