Two types of sandwiches

Time flies by...this weekend is a celebration sandwich with two pieces of sad bread.  Friday I went to Pittsburgh to see my 94 year old grandmother in the hospital.  To put it simply she is dying, and I wanted to see her before she declined further, since, next to my parents, she is the most important figure in my life.  She is a strong little Italian woman who could easily recover in the same manner as Danny Aiello's (Johnny Cammareri) grandmother in Moonstruck.

On Monday I will go to the memorial service of my best friend's (from high school) dad in southern NJ.  More on him in a later post as I will pr

obably be in a reflective mood on Monday evening, especially after I see my boy Kurt and his family.  Kurt called me last Monday, out of the blue, and before we could engage in our usual banter he was choking out the news about his father's passing.  I had to go to another side of the office to grieve with him on the phone, and I cleared my afternoon this Monday in the same manner as I would sweep the clutter off of my desk with one swing of the arm.  This is one of those times when deadlines don't really matter.

So in the middle we celebrate my daughter's 10th birthday (party--the actual birthday is next week) and the carnival at her school on Sunday.  Throw in the baseball games that I missed because I was coming back from Pittsburgh, the beautiful weather, and a great visit with my relatives in the Steel City, and it's a good weekend.  The icing on the cake is not one but TWO visits to a Pittsburgh institution (Friday night for dinner and Saturday to refuel before the trip home):

A simple sandwich with two pieces of Italian bread, the meat filling, and FRIES AND COLESLAW in the sandwich itself.  The preceding sentence doesn't do it justice, as the first time I wrapped my jaws around a Primanti Brothers Cappacole and Cheese a few years ago I nearly shed tears of joy.  These sandwiches have SLOW written all over them--they will do nothing for my speed on the bike--but when I partake in one of these beauties the bike is the farthest thing from my mind.  

Speaking of which--I've been off the bike for a solid week plus--longest sabbatical since Christmas.  Great gains in this 16 + week block;  now I'm on a plateau, and now I'm ready for the next climb.