You Shall Know Us By Our Stained Shirts

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 15% BF

I spent the weekend sort of battling a cold, still on the edge of it & I don't know which way the tipping point is going to go... stayed in Friday night, blew off the gym on Saturday -- spent the day w/ housework, even though it was beautiful outside. Living room, kitchen & bathroom are pretty much up to code now, and the enforced rest did me a world of good.

Between the sinus situation and the medicine I was taking for it, I didn't have much of an appetite. I don't even remember eating dinner Friday night (probably just went straight to bed), and breakfast was all I ate on Saturday, until I suddenly got very hungry about 10:00, decided to go out after all. I went to Which Brew, grabbed a cheesesteak and a Lancaster Milk Stout. I checked out the band (Illinois Slim) talked to Stu and Cathy, & saw Ed there as well, but didn't make it "a night out," went home to bed pretty quickly.

All this sets the stage for...

The Superbowl of Chili: yesterday was Superbowl Sunday, which meant it was also the 10th Annual "Superbowl of Chili" at Pearly Baker's Ale House. I've been to all of them since the beginning. How it works is, the back dining room at Pearly Baker's is emptied of the regular tables, and long tables are set up against all the walls; about 30 different local restaurants and pubs (some caterers as well) bring their chilis. There is a panel of judges for the main competition, and also a "people's choice" award. A five-dollar donation to charity gets you in, and you get to sample all the chili -- tiny little samples, but after 30 of them you're stuffed -- and vote on your favorites. It's a mob scene; outside of Heritage Day it's the biggest deal in Easton every year.

My/our participation has evolved into something of a ritual: some outdoor activity beforehand, then the Chili Contest, head next door to Mother's (much lesscrowded) to regroup, then a walk up the street to Porters to end the day. This year we started from my place and did an MTB-on-road ride, dropped downtown to Coffee Works for breakfast, rode around near the library and Easton Cemetery, then took the (snowy and difficult) trail along the Bushkill to 13th Street and back home. "We" in this case was myself, Brian, Eric and Doug & Lori -- Lori also volunteered to be designated driver, after she saw us in action last year... The ride was very good, up until we hit the snow, then it was difficult but doable (barely). We spent a little more time than we should have with this phase of the day, and arrived waaaay late to Pearly Baker's: usually we get there around 11:00, an hour before the start, and get a spot on line inside the bar. This time things had already started by the time we got there, and we were waiting down the block; warm weather was a lucky break but it was quite a while before we got to eat any chili. The bar was crowded, and inside "the chili room" was total chaos as usual, lots of people & great chili -- bumping into people, juggling a cup of beer, pencil and score sheet, Doug and I got matching chili stains on our shirts but we managed to get most of it in our mouths. Saw a few familiar faces, but not as many as I expected, no Pete H or Dick S... of course, we didn't spend much time in Pearly B's after the chili, so maybe I just didn't see them. Mother's, Porters, home, early bedtime & I missed the Superbowl for the umpteenth time in a row...