Famiglia

Another weekend... another reason to travel. My great uncle turned 90 on the 5th. Father Angelo Caserta. And no, I'm not Sicilian. My dad's mom died when he was ten... or thereabouts... and my grandpa remarried Rose Caserta, one of 13, I think. But it's the only family I've ever known on that side, so they might as well be biological. Out of the 13, two became priests... Angelo and Charlie.

I did the prayer cards for the service. One side was dedicated to his ordination and the other to his birthday. The printing came back f'd up, so there'll be 2000 more coming shortly. Oh well. I was also supposed to take the pictures for the mass and the party afterwards. The mass wasn't so bad, although I really should know my equipment better than this by now... and I really spent the majority of the party taking pictures of my most immediate family.

In the end, none of them really turned out all that great, but I never claimed to be a professional photographer, so no one can complain. Erica and I lit the Christmas tree Sunday night... so we took some time to drink a little wine and listen to some music. I do like this time of year when there's the opportunity to sit down and enjoy it.

Awful news on the running front, however. It appears as though I've been stricken with IT Band Syndrome which is fairly common and unfortunate. After a mile or so, it literally feels like someone is jamming an ice pick into the outside of your knee with every step. I still don't really know what to expect from this and should make a doctor's appointment sooner rather than later. This just sucks sucks sucks. I was running well and enjoying being out there. I'm going to take a week off and start up next week on slow, flat, soft surfaces. Again, trails would help if there were any around here.