Our kind of love is:
We were making good time when my bike started wobbling 200 miles from Sturgis. I had to shut her down and we waited in the middle of nowhere South Dakota four hours for a tow to the HD dealership in Rapid City. In the meanwhile, I got to be closer to my love and wonder why my bike hates me so. That one has become a love/hate relationship.
A coworker and I are staying a couple nights in Manhattan across the street from KState University. After our work meetings we've had some time to spend in Aggieville and pool side. The pool has given me the opportunity to test out the underwater features of my new camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough 8010 with 14 megapixels that's shockproof from 6.6 feet and waterproof up to 33 feet. It should be just the rugged camera my life requires.
I saw some improvements in my golf game this Tuesday and really wanted to play again tonight after work. Both my golf buds were busy so I put on my big girl panties and set up a tee time by myself. I've never played alone before and I did fine. In fact, I ended up walking all 18 holes and learned something about myself. I actually play better at a faster pace. That is until around the 17th hole where I ran out of steam. It's good to know this is something I can do comfortably more often. Watch out girls - I'll be getting in some practice time!
In all the years I've gone to Texas to visit family, this was the first time I made it a motorcycle road trip. I invited my best riding bud, Melanie, and we called it a Girls' Run Weekend. Storms were all around us but good karma followed us most of the way. 
We spent a night in Dallas
Then we were off to Cedar Creek Lake for a weekend of fun and fireworks with my grandma, aunts, uncle and cousins complete with BBQ and bonfires. 
Oh, and there
I've been a little distracted with soldering projects lately. Last night, I designed a ball chain Harley scary skull bracelet that matches my riding jacket. The bar and shield pendant is a gift for the girl next door. I'm soldering and I can't stop...
Look who's staying at my place this weekend and hanging out on my patio -- it's my dear knitting friend, Angelique, from Shiprock, NM. We're all happy she's here to visit for the weekend and I've missed the comfortable friendship we have. There will be lots of laughing and knitting going on!
Both of my parents have been talking about restoring their old bicycles. Mom's Western Flyer (remember Western Auto?) was sitting in her garage with flat, crusty tires and the metal was just covered in rust. I picked it up and took it to Tom Saywer for new tires, tubes, tightened spokes, chain lube, etc. It cost about $130 for a complete overhaul. They said vintage bikes are their specialty and many people are choosing to restore over buying new. In fact, they referred to the rust as a nice shade of patina. 
You know, vintage cool and that made me smile. When I brought it home and started washing it in the driveway, husband came out, grabbed an SOS pad and started rubbing the rust away like magic. Not long after that, I took over and now Mom's old bicycle sparkles like new.
I made this Firefly scarf especially for one of my coworkers (Smile Director) Ginger. She's a quilter and wants to learn to knit someday so I took her to Twist, introduced her to the Wednesday gang and she picked out the yarn for her own Firefly scarf. She picked out Hempathy in Eucalyptus. The color looks fabulous on her and I'm hoping she takes up the hobby soon.
I was running with the big dogs (husband's friends) this holiday weekend. We rode from Kansas to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The trip revolved around riding the Natchez Trace (a 440 mile curvy parkway spanning through Mississippi, Alabama & Tennessee). It was a lot of riding for a total of 1,800 miles of fun and adventure with overnight stops in:
As we were coming home my steel pony, Sinister, started to sputter and cut out. I made it off the turnpike just in time for her to die as I coasted into a parking lot so very close to home. It was sad. She tried her best to get me home after such a long journey.
As if I need a new hobby...but I just can't resist learning something new. Besides, these pendants are a small, fast and easy way to solder with glass. 
The first steps are to prepare the two-sided artwork and glass wrapping with copper foil. Then the soldering begins which requires the right amount of heat combined with techniques I learned from Sheryl to build up the solder. I assembled several tonight ready to be soldered together and added beads to my completed knitting skeleton. She's a happy knitter!
Several of my bicycle friends were tied up today so I ended up going it alone to all of the I Bike Douglas events. That's okay, I made friends with several of the Coasters and had a kinda vagabond day hanging out in downtown. There was an antique bicycle show at the Farmers Market and I 
sat on a bench in the sunshine listening to live music and knitted. It was fabulous and I couldn't have wanted to be doing anything other than that all morning. Then I rode around for a while, made a quick stop into Twist, then to Mosley Street Market to hang out with Sheryl to work on another stained glass pendant. A final stop at the Anchor for yam fries and a Woodchuck was the power I needed to finally make it home.
Today was National Bike to Work Day and I did my part in participating although all of my coworkers chose to drive to work. Maybe this thing will take a while to catch on. I'm also going to do my part in trying to encourage others to ride to work on Fridays when possible. At least there's more bicycle awareness going on in Wichita and talk of more bike paths. In the meanwhile, I'm stuck with bumpy sidewalks and a not so treacherous intersection across our Higway 54. The weather was beautiful and I was excited all day knowing I'd have a pleasant ride home.
This is my 2nd Firefly Fringed Scarf. This time for one special neice and from a different yarn, Hempathy (34% Hemp/41% Cotton/25% Modal) by Elsbeth Lavold. It's got a smoother texture than the Firefly yarn but just about the same drape factor. Saw this color of green and Amy immediately came to mind.
I've got to give it to cyclists who pedal to work. It takes some fearlessness in this city. I experienced that today with my first 14-mile (round trip) sidewalk ride to work. In addition to maneuvering around rough sidewalks and inattentive drivers I learned:
Thought is required for clothing and shoes that transition from riding to the workplace
I need to allow a full hour to make it to my office on time
A pant leg flapping in the wind will invariably end up in the chain!
Happy Mother's Day to you and your mom. I took my momma to the downtown Hyatt for brunch. We found that the Hyatt buffet doesn't compare to the quantity or quality of the Airport Hilton but we are always looking to try something new. Then we went to see the movie, Bounty Hunter. I think this movie got a one-star rating but I was pleasantly surprised how adorable Jennifer Aniston can be. Mom enjoyed it too so that's what's really important. Love You, Mom!
