Meeting Up With Friends

Meet Amy.....meet Tom (a.k.a. Harry Legge's). Amy invited Bike man and me to her 38th birthday celebration today. We've been reading/hearing about Amy for three years now. You see, Tom and Amy ride together throughout the greater Twin Cities area. When I say ride together, I mean real bicycle rides, like 80-100 mile rides. I really admire people that can put those kind of miles into their lives.

And then there is Lynne. We became blogger friends three years ago and then facebook followers. We finally got to meet Lynne for the first time today. It so fun, following someone's everyday life, and then talking about it. We enjoyed talking with her and discussing her upcoming Ragbrai ride through Iowa in July. Lynne is great and I wish I had a friend like her to ride with every week.....she truly has a passion for cycling.

Lots of good food, munchies and dessert. Tom made two blueberry/peach pies....very nice. A big thank you to Amy for inviting us to be a part of her birthday bash.

Earlier in the day, Bike man and I headed to St. Paul to meet up with the Son and Trisha. Had a great morning walking around on Grand Ave. and shopping at Penzey's (spice & herb store), and having lunch at Bruegger's Bagels. Just a great day all around and I especially feel blessed to have connected with Amy, Tom and Lynne through social media!!!!

Sweet

Ahhhh, cupcakes. Everyone loves them, don't they? Got a message a couple weeks ago that my church was having a bake sale at the local grocery store and they were looking for church members to donate baked goods. Came home after work and baked some Snicker Bar cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Grabbed this idea from a cookbook at my libray.

After baking tonight, I walked down to the dock to enjoy this colorful sunset. Finally had a nice day today.

Bike man spent the last two days doing bicycle maintenance on a friends bike. It was a challenge working on the bike yesterday with the wet conditions outdoors, so the bike came indoors. Bike man did his best to keep the cats away from his equipment.....cat hair in the bicycle chain is not a good thing!

Looking forward to tomorrow.....bicycle ride, sunshine and a birthday party, whoo hoo!

Let's Try Again

So this is what I wanted to post last night, but Blogger was hiccupping again. Bet you didn't know there was a pirate in the house! Every time I come home from work and see the pirate hard at work, I just smile.

It didn't take too long and our fourth cat Manny is feeling right at home. I'm so relieved since Manny spent two days under the bed. I was really getting worried, but slowly Manny is exploring the house and warming up to the other cats. In fact, I caught Manny and Annabelle playing together this morning....wow. Spent 30 minutes this morning helping Bike man haul Manny and Abby to the Vet. Manny needed some updated vaccinations, and Abby needed to be re-checked for an infection she was fighting 3 weeks ago. Everything went well.

I almost hate to say this, but it rained all day. It was a cold rain. Just can't believe it's June 23 when you consider the weather here in Wisconsin. High of 59 degrees today. Can someone please assure me that it's summer. What happened to that 90 degree weather we had a month ago?

I'm trying really hard to be happy, and cheery despite the cloudy, rainy conditions. Ohhhhh sun, please return.

More Blogger Issues

Blogger is driving me nuts! For a month now Blogger has had all kinds of problems. I'm even seeing the same problems with my work blog. So tonight, I cannot post any photos. Darn, I had two photos I wanted share with you. Will have to wait until Blogger burps!

Another weird day of weather, with heavy rain just to the east of where we live. The sky looked ominous while driving home after work. Came home to the "happy house of cats." New kitty Manny is totally enjoying the whole house now and is no longer hiding out under the bed. I'm so relieved that he is feeling comfortable in his new home setting. The other three cats are now accepting Manny's presence and that's a good thing.

Summer?

Summer arrived today, so they say! Didn't feel like the first day of summer however. Kind of a rainy, windy, cool and humid. Had to work late tonight .....it comes with the job ya know! Hope to hop on my bike later this week. Cooler weather predicted for the next few days, so weird. Is it summer yet?

Rain Held Off

Bike man and I headed out on the road bikes after work tonight. I felt like the east wind was laughing at me saying, "ha, ha, I'm gonna make you work those quads." Legs were sore from yesterday, but the hills tonight helped work out that soreness. Looked like rain, but the rain held off......that's a good thing. (20 miles/Tainter Lake route)

Manny update: tonight Manny is exploring the house. He finally emerged from the bedroom where he has been hiding since late Saturday. He's still weary of the other cats, hissing at all three cats, but I know it's normal cat behavior. Yup, go ahead and call me the crazy cat woman!

Hey, It's a Turtle!

We decided to stop and move a snapping turtle off the highway today. Bike man picked him up and his head immediately started snapping back and forth.....yikes. He was a big boy about 14-15 inches. About a mile down the road we found another smaller turtle trying to cross the road. Of course we stopped our bikes and once again removed the turtle. Decided to do a long ride today with decent temperatures and mostly cloudy conditions. I haven't done a long ride on Ruby yet this season, so my body spoke to me loud and clear towards the end of the ride. Rehydrating was the key to relieving my sore muscles! (44 miles)

I called my daddy-0 this afternoon to wish him a Happy Father's Day. My mom and dad were busy today going through all kinds of stuff.....stuff that needed to be weeded or set aside for their daughters. I know it's hard going through years of stuff, but it's a chore that has to be done. Thanks mom and dad.

Manny update: He spent all day under the bed, but finally pulled him out and introduced him to other areas of the house. I was getting worried because he hasn't been eating, drinking or peeing in the cat box. I was able to get him to eat some soft cat food, but he still hasn't had any water. Decided to separate him again tonight when we go to bed. I want Manny to feel safe at night. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day for Manny......he's such a sweet cat.