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Man, it is dreary outside. There's been so much rain this fall...usually I like rain but I want more sun now. The ground is saturated so we're getting more puddles in yards. The gray skies don't exactly enthuse me to go run or bike. I'm wanting to do both but I'm not that hard-core and the idea of constantly cleaning my bike after nearly every ride or watching my new Asics turn a dingy brown isn't appealing. But you know what will happen...eventually we'll start getting days and days of constant sun, and the rain will start looking good again.

The dog with no name....yet...running through the backyard of our house.

We got a new dog last Sunday! Still trying to come up with a name for him. He's about two years old and we rescued him at a local shelter called Pet Savers. Visit their website and think about making a donation for the good work they do. Anyway, our guy's a lean, energetic dog, however his maturity has made it easier to deal with him...so far. In a perfect world we'd all want our dogs to start out with us as puppies but there are so many older dogs that need homes. And many of them are already house-broken or just need some love. Sure, you might have them for a shorter time but, with patience, they'll show you how much they appreciate the gift you've given them of a home, food, and that needed attention!

We're hoping to come up with a name for the fella tonight. We pulled out a few maps of Australia to see if any towns or landmarks may be good candidates for a name. We've found several that are appealing.

Last Saturday I went riding with a couple of other guys to do my first 50+ mile ride in several weeks. It was special because the temperature at the start was 21 degrees! After three-and-a-half hours the temps had risen to a balmy 42 degrees. We were rugged up fine and actually enjoyed the ride although my legs definitely felt like they haven't done this in a while. Jonnene rode later in the morning but you still had to dress for it. It helped that the sun was out.

That night we went to the annual Christmas party that our triathlon club holds and I did a mighty fine job NOT stuffing myself with all the great food that was on hand. Oh, I ate alright but managed to hold off. The food was great! During the awards ceremony and speeches later on, I scored by winning three of the door prizes that were being given out (and there were a LOT of people there). Even Jonnene won something!