Harley Baubles

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...

Angelique Rides

I borrowed mom's bicycle for Angelique so that she could ride around with me for the day. It was already hot and humid at 7:00 a.m. when we took off for the Donut Whole. Then to the farmers market where I found a great handmade pottery flower vase. Our last destination for the majority of the day was at Twist for Worldwide Knit in Public Day. There were contests and drawings while we knitted the afternoon away. I think it was close to 100 degrees when we had to make our way slowly back home. I sure enjoyed spending time with you, A!

Angelique is in Town

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!

Mom's Western Flyer

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.

Firefly 4 Ginger

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.

Destination: Lake of the Ozarks

I was supposed to be riding my bike to the lake this weekend but instead I'm driving the "snack mobile". Ordinarily, I'd be kinda down about my bike not running but decided to make the best of it and it wasn't all bad. I opened up the sunroof, rolled down the windows and was still in the wind singing along with Pink, Miranda and Jason Aldean. I was happy my girls Shawndra and Sharon got to enjoy a warm sunny day of riding.

4 Days = 8 States

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:

Memphis, TN - Saw Graceland at night and walked around the dowtown district with the masses partying on Beale Street

Tupelo, MS - It was inevitable I would find a terrible Waffle House but the magnolia trees were beautiful and the wild turkeys were everywhere

Shreveport, LA - Rode while the sun set in Louisiana with cool, humid smells that reminded me of childhood camping and fishing trips

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.

Last Rodeo

Yes, Brooks & Dunn, "We're Gonna Miss You When You're Gone". That song made me cry, as did "Neon Moon" and my most favorite "Believe". Other than that, the show was very good and it's so hard to hear them say goodbye. Their music has been a big part of the last 20 years of my life.

A New Hobby

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!

I Bike Douglas

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.

Bike to Work Day

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.

Shopping in McKinney

I went to Texas over the weekend to visit family and before I got to Dallas, I made a stop in McKinney, TX. Historic Downtown McKinney offers many unique shops including art galleries, antique shops and clothing boutiques. I bought a cute black little dress they said I should wear with tights and cowboy boots - that's so Texas. There was also a stained glass gallery that I went to and bought some supplies for my new pendant hobby. It was a charming place to shop and leisurely walk along the square. Then I was off to visit with family and we had a nice Saturday night sitting around a bonfire. Before I knew it, it was time to come home and I made one more stop in McKinney for the Third Monday Trade Days. It's an outdoor flea market and I found a Pfaltzgraff jug to add to my collection and a candle chandelier for my patio. I always find good stuff in Texas.

Firefly Scarf 4 Amy

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.

Ride to Work

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

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!

Saturday at the River Festival

Jackie and I met up on our bicycles at Panera then rode together to the Old Town Farm & Art Market just opening for the season. We were thrilled to find a bicycle vendor booth with freebies from the Health & Wellness Coalition such as helmets, bike locks, reflective vests and t-shirts. The Bike Cave was also there for service and tire checks. Douglas Avenue was closed for the River Run making it smooth riding for us to the festival.

My neice, Amy, ran in the River Run and I met up with her afterwards at the Vagabond. Funny girl, drinking beer after a run. Then mom showed up and we walked around the festival taking in the music, art and a funnel cake. As if funnel cake wasn't enough, I also met up with Laurie and her husband at the food court for roasted corn and a corn dog.

I took a 3-hour class at Sheryl's Stained Glass in the Mosley Street Market. This little shopping center is a hidden gem in Old Town. (Sheryl also has a booth at the monthly colliseum flea market and Saturdays at the Farm and Art market). In the Mosley market she has a studio set up where she taught me how to solder small little pictures (two-sided) between glass to make pendants. I made two: Betty Boop for mom for mother's day and ladies on bicycles for me. I found I really like to solder and will be making more of these for certain.

Firefly Fringed Scarf

Just about all the cool Twist girls have made this scarf from Classic Elite Yarns (75% viscose/25% linen) and I just finished mine. The fringe is made by unraveling 7 stitches of stockinette from the triangle side of the scarf. It goes well with one of my most favorite Corona hats!

Echo Hills

Tonight's golf game was at Echo Hills. It's sad to me to think in a couple of months the course will be replaced with a big box store. It's a narrow course and we experienced many guys crossing over to play off of our fairway. It's all good but I had to pause when I saw a turtle crossing our path. That's something I haven't seen before. He hissed at me and went about his way. The course will be open for play until July 5th.

Riverfest Is Near

The Wichita River Festival is right around the corner. In case you missed it, I absolutely love working downtown. Especially in May when the festival is underway. The city is just setting up the food court that sits right below my office and all the action begins this Friday. In addition to our normal walks to the coffee shop during morning breaks, my coworkers and I will be taking in all the food and musical entertainment throughout all of next week.


I've managed to ride Hoolie around on my lunch hour a couple days each week. Today, I tried out a new lunch destination: a walk up Bierock stand in Riverside. It's across from the Riverside Perk coffee shop. They have a few different varieties of bierocks but I went with the beef and cheese. It was pretty good. There's outdoor seating and soon they will be adding Hawaiian Ice and ice cream to their menu.

First Run of the Year

My first motorcycle ride of 2010 started with a quick overnite 200 mile road trip to Oklahoma City. My friend Sharon had a club meeting and invited me, husband, her brother and his girlfriend, Dawn, along for the trip. We spent Saturday night hanging out in Bricktown watching people. Sharon has a new white paint job on her bike and Dawn had her first out-of-state ride on her Buell. I got to open up the throttle on my new engine and I absolutely love the crisp sound and improved horsepower. It was a good warm up to a fun summer ahead.