i'd forgotten.

how much i enjoyed the open road on a bicycle.  of course, taking selfies while clipped into a road bike is probably not the smartest thing, but i couldn't resist.  summer riding has officially started with 3 rides over the last couple weekends.  sunday's ride started at 8 am, and i loved the peace, solitude, and the crisp morning.  the first couple rides i took sorta slow since it had been about 6 months since i had ridden my road bike.  i had to re-acclimate myself with shifting gears, clipping in and out, and paying attention to debris and wild life on the road all at the SAME time.  i do well to follow multiple instruction in a knitting pattern with AT THE SAME TIMES, cycling is a whole 'nother thing.  along with my other interests [hobbies], i like to set performance goals, so this summer/fall i'd like to:

         ~learn accident avoidance & safety
         ~how to change a bike tire
         ~ride with a group on the real open road
         ~routinely include a week day ride
         ~participate in a charity ride

i plan to blog about how the rides go, and what i learn.  i think in order to meet these goals, i'm going to have to be real good with how i manage my time.  i don't want to neglect my other hobbies, so it'll be a challenge.  i'm making great strides with my knitting, but hope to finish what's in my bag before i cast on anything else-well see how that goes.

10 Things I did that made Memorial Weekend Awesome

Carole's prompt this week comes on the tail of another great weekend which has been a family tradition for almost 20 years.  We were 2 nieces short this year, but despite their absence, we had a wonderful time-as proof from my list.

10.  Slept late ( a little bit on 2 days!)
  9.  Went for walks, both with Sophie and on my own
  8.  Went for a hike at Tallulah Gorge
  6.  Reading time with my book club book Island Beneath the Sea
  5.  Worked on a special knitting project for a VERY special person
  4.  Played games-yes I know!  Team Sheffield-Tieman for Quiddler, a couple games of Zilch, and 1/2 a game of Yahtzee
  3.  Knitting-I brought plenty to work on, and felt like I'd made some good progress on my summer knitting projects.
  2.  Ate LOTS of yummy food-and had amazing cocktails and wine-always a highlight of this weekend.
  1. Spent uninterrupted time with some of the most important (and favorite) people in my life.
 

it's a first.

a neighborhood book club.  It's something new for me, and the response to starting this was awesome.  We had our first meeting last night, and everyone who committed to being there showed up.  We had a yummy chocolate mousse cake from costco-so good, some lovely cheeses, crackers, and fruit.  I brought the last bottle of red wine and Ann's champagne rounded out our feast.  Our discussion was just as good as the food, and I'm so glad we took the steps to make this happen.  I'm really looking forward to next month, we'll be discussing my selection Death of Bees.  Even though I just finished it a few weeks ago, our discussion about Lost Lake reminded me that I should do another re-read so I'm more prepared.  We are utilizing our clubhouse [it's such a homey setting], and we hope to be able to sit outside this summer.  Our clubhouse is so under used, and the back porch which overlooks the pool is such a nice spot and shaded.  I got to meet one new person, and I had more face time with someone I see when we are out walking our dogs.  The starting of this book club is good timing for me as I'm looking for more "me" things to do away from work and home.  Also, I don't have to drive-BONUS!

cause that's how i like to do it.

with regular spring weather upon us, i got to thinking about outside bike rides.  I've really missed them, but what I don't miss about them is how time consuming they can be-1+ hour to drive round trip, load and unload bikes, then 2+ hours for the ride.  The good side is that if Steve is driving, I get to knit while he drives.  It got me thinking about my routine.  I'll admit I like my  routine,and I don't like it messed with-I know there are times when things have to be re-arranged, but to just approach each day without some sort of plan makes me twitchy.  While thinking about the timesuckthatisoutdoorcycling, I also realized that my extra pair of hands won't be home this summer.  So I made a list of the things I have to do each week along with a list of things I want to do-grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, exercise, knitting, sewing, etc. Along with my need to have a routing, I'm of the camp that you do your chores first then you play, so with game plan in place, my goal for the next few months is to "work" Sunday AM-Wednesday, so I can play Thursday-Saturday, and Sunday afternoon.  Some of these shifts will include doing my house work Sunday mornings while everyone is asleep.  I have a pretty good routine for this, so it only takes about 45 minutes-without vacuuming- that will have to wait til after church.  I'm going to use Wednesday as my grocery shopping, and weekend prep day-cutting/washing/prepping veggies, marinades, dressings, etc.  Anything that can be made ahead of time.  Our dinners are going to be more thematic as well.  Friday-snack or leftovers-am looking forward to sitting on the deck with a glass of wine, my knitting and food that only requires me to put it on my plate.  Saturday will be pizza/stromboli night-think my family can cope with the change?!  Sunday after church lunch a simple one dish meal that'll fill us up, and then we can have snacks again for dinner.  Monday-Thursday will be a combination of leftover and anything that can be made into a quesadilla. Am hoping this will work, and provide me with the sense of balance, accomplishment, and not lose my sanity.  Hopefully there will be more blog fodder too.  Am making great progress on my current WIPs, so hopefully I'll have something to share in a week or so.