The Goings On

August is done! I can't believe it! It's my amazing older brother's birthday today and I am thankful that he's made me a more patient, more understanding, and more caring person.

Outside of that, here's what I've been up to:

I've done some climbing with good friends.

I think I'm pretty much done being afraid of heights...because I was able to position myself at the edge of the cliff, lay on my stomach, and look over and snap these shots of my friends Steve and Morgan climbing.

Early this week I purchased Mums for my home. Can you believe that Mums are already in season? Fall is coming!

I've been riding my bike back from work as often as I can manage - it's about 13 miles and I just set a new PR today - 43 minutes! I didn't even have a fast roadie to follow home today! I know that's nothing for some people but for slow little me hitting an average of 17 miles without a tailwind is pretty impressive.

And in other cycling news, I got a chance to meet Tom Danielson and show him how high fives were done. Look at those guns on me! Climbing will do that to you!

PS: I just looked at that picture and realized how badly I need a hair cut! Yikes!

humble dwelling

This is my family's summer cottage. It is in the far northern reaches of this country on a tiny lake.

No one lives close by to it so it's mostly shut up and mouldering to pieces in a swamp until we come around every few years to go swimming at the lake.

My dad and my grandpa built this cottage out of an old garage one nail at a time when my dad was a teenager and then it was filled with all the furniture that my grandparents' didn't have a use for in the 60's and 70's.

It hasn't changed much since then, right down to the 1776 themed tablecloth, the bicycle in the storage room with two flat dryrotted tires, and the refrigerator that my grandparents bought when they were married in 1949.

And yes, it still runs.

life as we see it

Somewhere in Kansas there is a very strange state park. After driving for miles and miles on some of the flattest ground on God's green earth you see a little canyon. If you drive down into that canyon you get this:

and this:

and this:

Strange, right? Doesn't look like western Kansas at all!

Life has been very busy on my end! I started teaching, JR broke his collarbone while dirt jumping, I've been sewing like mad, and I'm upping my riding volume so I can dip my toes back into bike racing for cyclocross season this year.

Right now though, I just need a nap so I'm going to take one.

How is life on your end?

Short time off...

It seems like I need a little week long blogging break - it's my first week of real-live-no one else in the classroom teaching! I'm so excited to start and I've worked really hard to be here but I need a little down time from all things internet to focus on getting my (completely empty!) classroom in order, create my long term school plans, put together my sub binder, and the other million things that I need to do.

See you next weekend for an update!