Thank You

Thank you Tom for sending me lots toys.

I like this one

and this.

But this one scares me.

Is there tiny dog inside?

First Day of Spring

My weight has started to inch down but I need to get out riding more. The weather is certainly right but I have been a bit exhausted. We had a plumbing emergency with no money for a plumber so I was busy and stressed for a couple days, not to mention dirty, and though I was exhausted Sunday I took a short ride to the stadium. The southern slope has had daffodils blooming for some time now. And baseball season isn’t too far off either.

I took some rims for a beach bike into Emery’s to get trued. Always helpful informative and they will be matching any price from the upcoming Bike Expo that same weekend. They are already getting busy repairing bikes and it will be up to two weeks before the rims are done. Didn’t see a used bike that excited me. I go by the Cyclesmith in Waukesha every week while working but usually don’t have time to stop to see what they have in used bikes.

Maybe I will just get a new rim for the old road bike though the shifters are on the down bar, making it a very undesirable design. Also I would want some larger tires to make a smoother ride over our not well maintained roads. Looking for baskets, since we cannot afford another car, and a new helmet too to round out my spring shopping. I will spend some time on my mountain bike and decide if I will get it professionally overhauled or try to work with it. Money is tight and gas is over $4/gallon.

The monthly meeting for the Metro Mountain Bikers was last week. WORBA, IMBA and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin all seem to be converging onto a common path. Volunteers to work their table at the Bike Expo may still be needed Friday morning.

More time outdoors lifts my spirits. I expanded our composting operation and am looking forward to enjoying work in the yard. The rhubarb is coming up. It worries me that a cold spell could hurt the garden and the peach tree, but the open waters and warm earth will mitigate any cold mass that may approach. The frigid days are truly past but Ike says look for snow to fly in June.

Alois finally got back to me on my latest book. He actually stopped reading in the middle of the book over some confrontational scenes. He found the story hard to stomach as Germans are very disturbed by stories of unhappy war circumstance. But he thought it would make a good movie. My cousin, who also wrote a novel himself, was very encouraging over what he had read of my work. Hope Alois will post this summer some of his gliding adventures. I am sure Misao will give you more pictures of Ike.

I'm waiting for you

Waiting

for you to come home

all day

It's a Dog's Life .

Sugar Sugar

I have definitely increased my physical activity but the weight hasn’t moved down much yet. I believe the less something is processed the healthier it is for you. In a desperate effort to provide some compelling photography that doesn’t include Ike I took a photo of the kitchen table. Misao bought this sugar sometime back and it is very rich. I don’t use as much in my coffee in the morning and it tastes very good. I can’t go back to white sugar for my coffee, blah,  and this isn’t brown sugar. Teavanna, a luxury store we treat ourselves to occasionally, sells a German rock sugar that has a similar color.

And talk about fresh making a difference, we stopped by a famous noodle house near the airport. San Dong Express is most notably famous for their homemade noodles. I recommend the jajangmyun. These are no instant cardboard noodles. You can eat a big pile smooth as silk, tasty and satisfying.

But there are few things sweeter than the “WORS Racer Handbook” arriving in the mail yesterday. The races I am most able and likely to attend are heavier on the back end of the season which works well for me. I didn’t see my favorite chain dry lube, ‘Squirt’ as a sponsor of WORS this year. Kinetic features their rock and roll trainer in a full page add. Convinces me that every month I wait the trainers will just get more realistic and advanced. Next year will be the time to buy something for myself.

After visiting the tax preparer, becoming aware of the damage our government is doing to our personal economy (and yes we do pay federal tax, not just the payroll taxes) we can now plan out this years monetary contortions. Most likely we can’t afford a second car this year. I plan to purchase a used bike in the very near future to get around town when I need to. I will put off overhauling my race bike for a month or so. The shops will be busier then, and I may be without it for a while, but you never know. The bike shops have been quite busy already with the sporadic spring weather. Today was over 60 degrees but I had no time to ride. rain tonight, cold tomorrow. This weekend we turn back the clocks and it will open evenings up for riding as my days become increasingly busy.

My new hair style

After taking a bath...

I'm look like pineapple....

Or looks like Conan O'Brien.