10-31-13

Martin: What else do we have at these events? - Too many cooks this time.
Me: Excited 'cause we're flying to Hawaii for a friend's wedding today! We'll be back on Monday. In the meantime here are two Hawaii pics from 2006 when we vacationed on Kona (same island as the wedding this weekend).

 Aloha!!! :-)

10-30-13

Martin: Still possible to get clouds this dark and not get any rain out of them 

Me: Nice evening around the campfire! Bob is home and a few friends came over to visit in the backyard. Harley barked at the howling coyotes.

10-29-13

Martin: Not much for our effort but still good to get away from the city

Me: That's service!

I'm capable of changing a flat tire but Bob usually does it for me (he's much faster than I). But this morning when I flatted Bob was in Seattle. Andy and John promptly stopped and did a speedy change of tires. Thanks, guys! We were back on the road lickity split and rejoined our Tuesday morning cycling group.

10-28-13

 Martin: Remains of the massive abandoned gold dredge at El Dorado. Where's all the gold gone???

Esprit de She Cycle Tour is on November 9th. I'm heading up the 15 & 30 mile road rides for approximately 300 women. Following the biking there will be a pool side party with food, massages & manicures! Last weekend I organized a pre-ride for women to bike and get some cycling tips. This is Adrian, one of my beginner riders, who was thrilled to complete 15 miles (her longest ride ever). Great job, Adrian!!

(below photo and write-up on Esprit de She web-site) 

Jane Meneely - Life Time Fitness Cycle Lead & Women's Cycling Advocate

Five-time female champion Tour de Phoenix, one-time female champion Tour de Tucson, two-time female champion Tour de Scottsdale, one-time female champion Tour de Tucson of the Mountains, 2012 female champion Whiskey 50 Off-Road, 2012 female champion Barn Burner 104, 2012 female top 20 finisher Leadville Trail 100 MTB.

A girlfriend first got me into mountain biking in 1996. We had a blast racing and exploring with this adventurous new hobby. Soon I picked up road cycling and over the years biking has become much more than just a hobby. I started the Ahwatukee Tuesday morning ride in 1998, which is still going strong today, and some of the best vacations my husband and I have taken have been cycling vacations.

I'm passionate about the sport for so many reasons. Cycling allows you to form wonderful friendships as you spend time with others suffering, talking and having fun. It will give you great fitness and can be enjoyed at any age. Cycling will also allow you to challenge yourself. I've entered many races over the years and have had some successes. Win or lose, you are guaranteed to learn, grow, laugh, cry and find out just how strong you really are. I enjoy leading weekend cycling groups from Life Time Fitness Tempe and my hope is that you will explore what biking can do for you - that it can open up your world.

Enjoy the roads and trails and please don't hesitate to ask me about cycling. I look forward to meeting you at Athleta Esprit de She Tempe Cycle Tour.

10-27-13

 Me: Wildflowers on the side of the track.

Me: Bob had the day in Washington D.C.  so he rented a bike and visited some monumental sites. The Washington Monument.

The White House.

The Lincoln Memorial.

Bob also got to the Vietnam Memorial, WWII Memorial and the Smithsonian Air and Space museum to see 2 items displayed that his dad worked on for NASA. So neat! What an interesting day for Bob.

10-26-13

Martin: Discovered a possible old mine entrance. Maybe they had as much luck as we did and moved on.

Me: Rudy making himself at home on Harley's favorite chair. I'm dog-sitting Joan and Dean's little pup today and tomorrow. The two doggies are pals so Harley doesn't mind sharing her digs.

10-25-13

 Martin: Attempting to dig out our old trench. Disappointing to see it fill with water.

 

Me: Beautiful sunset shot sent from Bob on his way to Guatemala.

10-24-13

Martin: Searching for a potential spot at our favourite location. The ground was soggy from the amout of rain that had fallen over the past weeks and this made it difficult to excavate too far without the holes filling with ground water. 

Me: Bob cooking salmon & quinoa. It's the first time using our new appliances. White counters are plywood (a nifty temporary solution until we're able to order real counters). Flooring will be decided after counter installation (explains the tile samples still on the floor). I'll post pictures of the whole kitchen soon. We love how it's coming together!

10-23-13

Martin: More canola crops are being sown throughout the state each year. They really stand out when the sun catches them and make for a pleasant change from grass paddocks.

 

Me: Bob and I on top of the helipad. Cool temps made for a nice ride this morning.

10-22-13

Martin: 15th birthday party with the family for Isabela, the boys cousin. 

Me: After another long day of working on the kitchen cabinets, our installer (left), James (middle), and Bob (right) enjoyed refreshments in the backyard. What was happening while Harley and I observed from the patio couch?

a) Bob is telling a wild story about mountain biking.

b) Bob is giving a puppet show with his hand animals.

c) An owl flew over head.

d) Coyotes were howling.

Which one or more of the options are true?

10-21-13

Martin: Another fine day but work to do around the house.

Me: Photo at 8am.

Photo at 4pm!

We're making great progress! Very happy with the cabinets (phew)! :-) Tomorrow they will install the island cabinets. Yay!

10-20-13

Martin: Nice sunset this evening.

Me: Identify 4 things in this photo.

10-19-13

Me: Bob flying from Dallas...

...to Mexico City.

 (volcanoes outside of Mexico City - photos by Bob)

10-18-13

Me: Harley unhappy to be visiting the vet. Poor baby has goopy, red and itchy eyes. Hope the prescription ointment fixes her up real soon. Hugs to my little girl.

10-17-13

Me: Good-bye to Abby the cat.

Good-bye to beautiful Fall.

Good-bye to wonderful friends!

Bob and I flew to Dallas this afternoon. Bob starts work tomorrow so after we had supper together he drove back to his TX friend's home. I'm waiting at the Dallas airport now with fingers crossed that I'll get on the 9:30pm flight back to Phoenix (the two previous flights were full). It will be late when I pick up Harley but am looking forward to getting a doggie hug. :-)

10-16-13

Me: This morning we drove by Stephanie, Brent & Carlie's farm. Stephanie is Charlie & Karen's daughter, Brent their son-in-law and Carlie their 19 year old grand-daughter. Carlie is a lover of animals, been active in 4-H and currently owns and cares for 15 horses, a couple turtles, wild turkeys, a python and a few other reptiles that I can't remember. Carlie is a nursing major but we all think she should be a veteranarian. :-)

Then Charlie, Karen, Bob and I trotted off to Harrison County to see the Amish farms and eat Amish food (we're really not in that buggy). :-)

Horse & buggies and quaint farms everywhere.

The Amish generally don't want their photograph taken so I tried to be discrete and snapped shots from our car window. It was nice to get a bit of history of the Amish from Karen and Charlie. Karen went to school with some Amish children and Charlie has worked with Amish over the years. The Amish married men have beards but no mustaches. Single men have no beard. They don't use electricity in their homes but can at their work place. They do seem to find loop holes in some rules. Like using gas to power their appliances, sometimes they have motors on their farm equipment and many own cell phones now (but have to charge them at their work place). Apparently there are differences between the various Amish communities too, depending how lenient or not their Bishop is.

Walnut Creek is a favorite stop of Charlie & Karen's. It's one our favorites now too!

We picked up some goodies from their market, ate lunch and indulged in yummy home-made ice cream.

Even though we were stuffed, we couldn't pass up the Coblentz chocolate shop.

Wow, the choices!

A little rain didn't bother our touring or the Amish at all.

Horse & buggy parking lot. :-)

Picture perfect farms.

Amish girl just getting off the school bus.

Can't resist photos of a horse & buggy or Fall trees.

Karen's childhood home in Baltic, OH. Baltic is in the middle of Harrison County (Amish Country) and her brother, Don still lives in this cute town. Enjoyed touring some of her history!

This shed was Karen's play house when she was little.

Scenic around every turn.

This is a farm just outside Baltic and recently featured on 

DIY television. Vanilla Ice has a show that remodels homes and he did a series in Amish country. Karen had recognized this farm on TV so we drove by it (we even saw the taped show last night - it's good!). Anyway, Vanilla Ice remodeled their whole kitchen and it turned out awesome. When we drove by the farmer was working on his tractor so we pulled up to say hello. He was friendly, funny and talked about his families experience with Vanilla Ice. The farmer knew Karen's brother and by the time we left we got a tour of their kitchen and met his wife, two daughters and grand-daughter. Neat experience!

Our favorite photo of the day!

_______________

Thanks again for a wonderful day, Karen and Charlie! And thank you, Stephanie, Brent and Carlie for meeting us for supper. So nice to visit with you too!