2009 McPherson Toy Run

Our long-time riding friends, Matt and Melanie, had us over for the night at their house in Galva, KS. Melanie is the ultimate hostess with the most-est. After a filling breakfast this morning, we lined our bikes up at their house with several of their friends and rode over to the toy run line up in McPherson. We were blessed with a sunny, mild day, riding our bikes through town in the parade ending at the American Legion where we handed over our toys. Thanks again, M&M, for the hospitality - we love you guys.

Torque + Hp = Big Thrills

Matt at M&M Choppers hooked me up with an enhanced motorcycle engine. He sent my HD Crossbones heads and cyclinders to Dave Mackie for oversized valves, cyclinders, pistons, and porting/polishing of the heads for an 103 cubic inch engine upgrade. There's a noticeable difference in torque and horsepower that not only increased the performance of my ride but also sounds pretty nasty (and that's a good thing!) I couldn't be happier, M&M.

Noro on the Road

Work meetings have me on the road all this week and you know what that means - lots of motel knitting. I brought along some Noro Kuryeon to start a 2nd garter yoke cardi and picked up some coordinating soft brown wool yarn at Wildflower Knits in Manhattan, KS. This cardi is going to have cropped sleeves and dark brown coconut shell buttons.

Osage Hills Weekend

Husband and I spent a relaxing weekend at my annual family reunion in Osage Hills State Park in Oklahoma where we all played cards, sat around the campfire, hiked and a few of us rode our motorcycles to the casino in Bartlesville. We saw several deers roaming in the park and on one of my hikes with a cousin, I found a trophy piece of root stump driftwood that's going to be a cool addition in my flowerbed.

Weaving at City Arts

I'm into my third weaving session at City Arts and it's been productive so far. I completed a rug designed as a shoe mat by the front door. I wasn't






expecting pefection (it's not pefectly square) but it serves a purpose I'm pleased with. Now on to a bigger more complicated project, a shawl. Weaving is a repetitive motion just like knitting that's very relaxing and calming.

Noro Garter Yoke Cardigan

My marathon wool cardi is now complete. I selected Noro Kureyon for the yoke and Cascade Heather for the body of the sweater but the detail is in the finishing -- I made button holes in grosgrain ribbon and then sewed to the button band as reinforcement for a designer touch.

Chemo Caps

A relative of mine is undergoing chemo treatments. Since losing her hair, she says her head gets really cold and asked if I could make her a hat -- well, that's the least I could do. I found one, two, three chemo cap patterns on Ravelry (completing several this weekend from Nashua Cilantro) and delivered them with a bouquet of flowers to brighten her day.