To Try or Not to Try, that is the question.

In the event you use Blogger and are wondering why the hell is no one commenting on your blog, they are, you just aren't getting the notifications!

Why am I not getting notification of comments?

Something to do with GDPR (Global Data Privacy Regulations) launching in the UK the end of May is the suspicion.  You may have noticed you have to accept terms/conditions on websites you visit regularly, that is part of that, many more restrictions on Personally Identifiable Information.  That's why.  I can go into a whole spiel on GDPR if you need fodder for a nap.

And back to our regular program...

Monday (0) At least I was moving a bit better than Sunday morning.  Mikey and I were texting about some nonsense and I whined to him about my pain and my lack of Advil, he recommended Alleve, the text came in just as I had hobbled into CVS.

Buy one get one 50% off.  I can't pass up a bargain.

The man is a godsend. It took 3 doses spaced about 4 hours apart and I finally got enough relief to sleep through the night.  I spent most of the night alternating between the heating pad on the ouchy area and cramming a lacrosse ball on the ouchy spot to get the mangle of crap to break up.

Disgusting

Tuesday (1) Back to work, I used the heating pad to warm up the ouchy part and get it moving before I crawled out of bed, that helped!  I was walking very gingerly and the guys in my area were having a wonderful time busting my chops about how does one get a pinched nerve in their hip...  the levity really helped and I mustered up the courage to walk to the far cafeteria for lunch.  Standing in line didn't exactly feel great but my walk back was faster than my walk to the cafe!  Progress!

So excited to get my team jersey.
Hopeful I'd be able to wear it on Saturday and ride!

By the time I got home I was navigating stairs like an adult and not a toddler.

Massive tears seeing the dedication to Dave Sachs
What a guy, what a loss.

Jax was getting super goofy and we were playing and disturbing Dave so we went for a walk and the humidity got to him, as I expected it would.  He curled up in his bed and zonked out for the rest of the night.

And another disgusting one.

Wednesday (3) I woke up and was able to get out of bed unassisted!  Ahhhhh...  Ro and I did the flat beach loop at a respectable pace, and as I walked I felt better and as the day progressed only a small amount of residual pain from changing my gait for nearly 5 days.  I think I'm through this.

I'm not an IPA fan but Dave is and he enjoyed this. 

Thursday (1) The plan was to leave before 3 and it should be 4.5 hours to get to White Ledge Campground in Albany NH.  Dave has some generally crazy ideas on what is the easier way to get somewhere.  That is what his mapping program told him.  I tried to explain what reality would be getting through MA...  feh whatever.

We went solar!
Charges the batteries enough to run the fans all night!

This was our first after dark arrival, 8:55 p.m. Threading the needle into the campsite was probably best done in the dark. I think seeing what we were facing would have made it tenser. A narrow bridge to back over and a large tree in the site were the obstacles.  Fortunately, the rain had just stopped so we could at least maneuver through the minimal set up quickly, we are getting very efficient, or is it proficient?

Getting into that spot was work, these were deserved!

Friday (4)  Earlier in the week I texted Leslie for a recommendation on a quiet trail with a pond suitable for my crazy Jax.  She recommended a hike 10-minute drive from the campsite and it was perfect for Mr. Crazy Pants.  After dropping Dave off at Cranmore, we found the trail and then Heron Pond and I soaked Jax till he cooled off, it was hot, and humid, with no end in sight.  Once we got back to the main trail he took off the opposite way from the car I followed to see where he wanted to go.  It's not my hike it's his, after all.  He found a cute trail to Chocorua Lake, the embankment was too steep for him to navigate so we didn't go in.  The main trail probably would have taken us to a more suitable place for him to jump down into the lake.

Yeah!  Water!

I regretted not changing into my running clothes so I could submerge my self in the cool water.  I really dislike being hot and feeling greasy.

Tasty Water! -- Jax

Jax and I hung out at camp enjoying small breezes; about 1:30 the thunder started.  BOOM!  Lightening within 3 miles of our camp.  Lovely.  Dave texted about 2:15 and would be ready to be picked up.

I'm wet and not even interested in shaking off.  -- Jax

The skies opened up on my drive to Cranmore to pick up a very soaking wet Dave.

Beth Check this out!!!
Leslie is awesome, make sure you tell her I told you I love her for this adventure.
-- Jax

And so went the rest of the day.  Crazy storms rolling through.  Ugh, how bad was this ride going to be on Saturday...

Well this could suck

We played Scrabble and I stopped checking the weather.  He annihilated me in Scrabble, clearly, this was an omen.

Haaaa

Saturday (78 + 2)  A quick peek at the weather showed cloudy until 2 then chances of rain and thunderstorms increased to 50%.  Cloudy is good!

The nosey boys

Ro texted they were leaving and the plan was to meet them at the ranger station at the bottom of the Kank.  Mark estimated 45 minutes for them to be there, it was an hour.  I kind of suspected it would be.

Five Top the Notches

5 of us started and the guys would peel off after the first aid station.

Before the worst of all three climbs (well 4 really)

All went well to that point.  The climbs are long slow grinds, I usually LOVE these climbs.  The first one up the Kank and up Bear Notch was good.  The downhill was amazing and I PRd from 2015, which I didn't doubt because it was raining in 2015.

I missed the 4th notch

About 10 a.m. the sun came out in full force to dry out a week's worth of apocalyptic rain, spiking the humidity. To make it more fun all the rest of the climbs were in full sun.  Definitely, the humidity took its toll on me and by mile 60 I was bonking.  I tried to recover, but once you start down the bonk road it is pretty much a sure thing.  I made another 18 miles and that was it, I was done.  Ro and Grace went on to finish the full century and I had a ride back with a lovely woman named Jen who told me about her two hikes on the AT through Georgia, one she had to bail and the other her friend had to bail.  We talked about knitting, and hiking, and biking, and aging as a woman, and fundraising, and the need for vaccines.

The gals before I broke up the band

As we neared the 25th mile in the 30 miles I was unable to bike, but somehow secretly thought I could, Jen could see me thinking and said: "Do you REALLY think you could have done this?"  I answered honestly.  "No."  She then went on to tell me about the conversation among the ham radio operators and that it was clear to them before it was clear to me I was fading and hopefully would surrender on my own and not have to be pulled from the course.

She asked if I needed anything and I said, I'll bike down to Dunkin Donuts and have a coolata or whatever they are calling it now - basically sugar and cream with some artificial coffee and chocolate flavor,a and wait for my husband to pick me up.  She said that she would take me through the drive through and he would pick me up at Tin Mountain.  And that was that.

All of this impressed me so much.

I mustered up the courage to start the ride, knowing there were things going against me, hip, heat, humidity, hydration.  I got as far as I could, I accepted help from friends and strangers, and I am better off for that.   I'm of the DNF is better than DNS school.  Gathering up the courage to embark on something you may or may not be able to complete is winning rather than not even trying.

Here's the link to my first experience riding this century.  It really is a great ride and superbly supported.  I can't say enough good things about the ride and Tin Mountain Conservation Center.

Relive the ride here.



Actually, I haven't said anything about Tin Mountain Conservation Center.  "The mission of the Tin Mountain Conservation Center is to promote an appreciation of the natural environment among children, adults, and families, through hands-on programs in the schools, at camp, and in the community and demonstrate responsible stewardship of natural resources through land protection, research, sustainable forestry, agriculture, and energy."

Guard dog

Sunday (1)  Jax and I lazed about in the morning and Dave went off for a ride.  I felt remarkably OK.  A little minor quad soreness and the usual saddle soreness.  Mostly super tired.  I question my doctors if I am anemic and the blood tests show I am not.  Although I wonder...  but yet I did an incredible amount of physical work riding 78 miles and climbing nearly 5,000 feet of elevation.  So perhaps that is why I felt tired.  But it was a different kind of tired, not the physical exertion kind of tired.

zzzzzz
He got to come into the people bed in the a.m., just like at home.
And when we need him out of the way.

I contemplated going for a short hike up one of the two trails from the camp, but as I was doing that Dave texted he'd be back in 15 minutes.  The first loop of the ride didn't go as he had hoped and he was hesitant to follow the second loop and further his disappointment.

Jax atop Mount Washinton, his first 4K.

Mileage:  Why do I bother?

Knitting:  The socks are starting to look like socks!

Reading:

"The Forgotten Road"
by Richard Paul Evans

This is the second book in the series, but I wonder if it really is a series.  This is the one that arrived first so I started with this one.  "The Broken Road" will be next.  This book is about a man walking Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica after escaping death.  Well everyone thinks he is dead, he is not.

Considering where I started the week I have no business being disappointed in how the week ended.

Sincerely,
Beth, neither disappointed, nor feeling like a failure.

This perplexed me to no end.
I don't know why but it did.
Remove the pin open the door and then you have to slam not shut the door to put the pin back in...

The week that started in the dirty big city and ended with clean mountain air

Monday (7) Ok I have to verify with Strava it was 7 miles but I think it was.  My memory is hazy at best for somethings.



View of Lady Liberty from the East River Greenway,
Manhattan Bridge in the foreground Brooklyn Bridge in the mid-ground.
And yes it really was that hazy and smoggy.

I'm in NYC Mon - Thur of this week and Monday I was fortunate enough to get out in time to take a walk from my hotel at 38th and Lex to Battery Park then find the Wall St. Station and get on the #5 Uptown or is it Downtown subway back up to GCT at 42nd and Lex.  Who the hell knew this girl who never learned to cross the street until she was damn near 20 would be navigating NYC in her future?



Freedom Tower

 

Let's jump back to crossing the street.  I grew up on back roads, I'd say dirt, but in Wisconsin, there were very few dirt roads, much like New Hampshire, the dirt were closed in mud and winter seasons.  My road RR2 in WI was paved, only by necessity because there was a large dairy farm.  Crossing the street was never anything we ever thought twice about.  Of course, you looked, but you had no idea what you were looking for other than a lost cow!

I just thought this was so beautiful

Going away to college taught me about crosswalks and pedestrian walkways and well all sorts of things, but my mother reads this so we won't get into that... mostly about why you had to look both ways to cross the street, to dodge vehicles, which rarely stop, unlike cows who sort of are as stunned as you are that something living is in your path.  All quite unique experiences for me, I'm sure some of the folks I went to college with were amazed at my nativity.  I'm quite certain my second roommate Lisa was, I'll always remember meeting her for the first time, in the Quad, she had a shirt on "I used to be Snow White but I drifted" and I didn't understand. I wonder if she even remembers that.  She had drifted quite often by then, me, not so much...

Da Brooklyn Bridge

It certainly is fun when we old folks reflect on the distant past, isn't it?

Crappy beer, nice view.

Tuesday (0) Of course the crappy air and the 7-mile walk did me in a bit...  fucking pleurisy.  I have now learned a couple Ibuprofen 4 - 5 hours apart stops the pain.  If you have never had pleurisy, imagine trying to breathe normally and having pain taking a normal breath.  Then imagine taking a deep breath, like perhaps to sigh or yawn and the feeling of a serrated knife heavily poking through and dragging up one side of your ribs or the feeling of a sort of dull knife stabbing your breastbone as you take a deep breath.  This is the best I can do to explain it. I take the Ibuprofen, it makes breathing more tolerable and frankly ME more tolerable.

And some parts of the East River Greenway you get to get up close and personal with the East Side Highway....

It was going to be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in meetings.  hence the long walk the day before.  The most I'd get was taking the long route to the toilet.

It was actually a bit cooler by the water.

The hotel has two great bars, because of the rain the rooftop was closed (my waitress from Monday night remembered me - not sure why I'm a dorky looking tourist?) so I went to the lower bar.  Better beer, but loud and full of children looking to hook up.  Ugh...  fortunately my reading glasses and dark beer and playing WWF on my cell phone kept them at bay?  The bartender asked about my shirt "So where is the Clamdigger?"  I said Westerly RI at the beach.  He said Misquamicut, I'm from RI.  Awesome!  So we talked RI, he is from there, I'm a transplant.  Which was made clear by who I root for in baseball?  The Tigers.  He roots for the Sox and anyone who beats the Yankees.  I guess I should have said the Cubbies, but Cathy doesn't read this so she won't be any the wiser.

Wednesday (3)  Mostly walking around NY Botanical Gardens (NYBG).  Our team outing for this year.  Clearly a very exciting thing for people living a very urban lifestyle.  I was really curious about the history of the 250 acres of gardens in the Bronx.  From what I could gather from the literature it is over 125 years old (founded 1891) and founded based on a Columbia botanist visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens near London.   Olmstead, who designed Central Park as well as my current home park of Wilcox park, also worked on the design of the NYBG.  The mission is the protection of plants through direct and applied research (Pfizer has a laboratory there), as well as teaching the public about plants, and maintaining and protecting the gardens. 

All in all, it was interesting, more than just rock and trees, some very unique trees for sure.  Snake Pine and Dwarf Sequoia.  I found it really interesting the Docent kept mentioning that people come here to figure out what to install in the landscape of what I'm assuming is their second home somewhere not in NYC.

Additionally paintings inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's visit to Hawai'i, as well as some plantings in the greenhouse (I missed the botanical exhibit because I get lost very easily and was engaged in conversation with a colleague on her foster daughter who came with foster dogs (they were NOT going to let Sophie be separated from her pups - can I get a tearful awwwww), the rest of her kids (not sure when they stop being foster daughter and son and become daughter and son - she and her husband are amazing for the number of children, 12 I think, they nurture and sent into adulthood, two of them were biological)  biking, running, camping, Vermont, canoeing, we had LOTS to catch up on!

After a team dinner, I took a walk the long way back to the hotel thinking I might get a beer but decided I'd walk instead when all of a sudden I hear my name "BETH LAZOR-SMITH" as I'm contemplating walking to Bryant Park.  OMG, it was a very drunk co-worker with a slightly less drunk co-worker.  How fun is that?  They were on their way to the train to go home.  Hugs chatting and then OMG I'm going to miss my train and ZOOOOM they were gone.  That was fun.

Thursday (1)  All day in meetings in an un-airconditioned office building.  A steam pipe explosion in the Flat Iron district (it's that crazy bad juju triangle building that cuts 5th avenue into 5th and Broadway, and it also looks like an iron).

Because everyone was getting edgy in the far to warm conference room the meeting ended about an hour early with the remaining topic to be discussed on a subsequent phone call and I got home 90 minutes before I expected I was going to be home...  Nice because I was exhausted and still had to pack for a long weekend in VT.  The weather was predicted to be crappy on Sunday, we went with the hope it wouldn't but prepared to come home if Sunday was a rainy mess.

Friday (4) We got up and out just before 8.  I was so not with it, and never really got with it.  Thankfully I had a list and it was pretty complete, something in me prompted me to find all the lists I had in a pile and make sure I had all the stuff in one list.  It sucks to forget stuff.

What you don't see is the cliff on the other side of the hammock, all the way down to the Waterbury Reservoir

Dave's buddy Bill met us up there and had the site next to us.  They went off for a ride and Jax and I took a hike, there was a cut off to make it a loop instead of an out and back.  I forget that VT parks have everything expertly labeled and that I only needed to look for the sign, not the low point where we should cross the river to pick up the cutover trail.

Very serious about something.

Jax enjoyed the three water crossings, ever since Mohawk he's pretty keen on calm rivers with lots of rocks, and he stopped and had some water from the river and I thought how nice it would be to just sit in it. I was hot and hoping this weekend wasn't going to turn into the last weekend we spent in VT.

Saturday (33 & 3)  My hip/butt started bugging me on Friday, I figured a nights rest and all would be fine.  Not so much.  It didn't hurt to bike so I did.  It hurt to walk for about 1/10 of a mile then it wasn't so bad.

About Mile 15 in my 33 mile ride, after the big climb (Strava elevation below somewhere)

The ride was good.  I was still very tired from the week but this was my opportunity to get out and ride in the cool of the morning instead of the heat of the afternoon, either I went first or Dave and Bill did.  Can't leave Jax alone, against the rules and also unfair to him.

Ingrate...  but the leaves may have been cooler.

The big climb and really only climb would be over in the first 12ish miles of the ride.  It was the steeper side of VT100 but I'd rather get it over with early in the ride than late in the ride.  The Strava elevation makes it look horrible, it wasn't that bad.  After the climb, I was afforded more opportunity to pay attention to the scenery and it was spectacular from that point forward.  I'm glad I didn't do the route clockwise.




As the day wore on I hobbled more and more and whatever it was would loosen up when I walked.  Jax and I checked out the A side of the camp and snoozed off and on all afternoon.  It was grand.

I love looking at the elevation profile on the small screen on Strava.  Makes me feel like such a bad ass!
 

Sunday (0) Total prediction of rain all day and looking at the radar for the whole of New England it was going to be a mess with bands of rain.  We had packed up mostly on Saturday night figuring it would be raining by the time Jax gets us up, about 6 a.m.  It wasn't but it was a miserable night sleep for me, I guess it is a pinched nerve in the piriformis area or because of a tight piriformis, kept me up most of the night and I tried to not keep Dave up.  I should have gone into Jax's bed.  He's graduated to the dinette bed, after a thorough review of all the Air Stream forums about the upholstery standing up to dogs. Of course, it was covered with a sheet and then a thick blanket on top of it, just in case this didn't include boxer nails.  Jax was pretty freaking stoked by a bed off the floor and windows!

Big Dog Bed
He really was thrilled to not be on the floor.

It took a good half an hour of hobbling back and forth in the trailer to get things moving enough to venture outside and help with the last of the packing up.  Fortunately, the rain wasn't due until 8 a.m., with the latest forecasts.   And at 8 it did rain, just as we were dumping and several people wanted to check out Spud.  It was a light rain and it didn't last more than 10 minutes and it's fun to talk RVs with people.



As a friend said "Boxers look like a cop pulling someone over in a 15 MPH school zone"

The drive back was littered with rain from a mist to a downpour and we got home to find it dry.  We live in a bizarre weather triangle where the weather seems to divide around us, it makes it difficult to plan things because it could be raining or snowing 10 miles away but fine where we are.  A good day to spend driving back and unpacking and laundry.  Well, Dave did most of that.  I alternately took painkillers every 2 hours and iced my hip/butt in hopes this would just go away.  Ha ha ha...



I just loved this image.  It isn't our camp site but it struck me as so beautiful and serene as Jax and I walked by.

Throwing myself down the basement stairs did cross my mind, but then that would be another chore for Dave, he'd get to clean up the mess so I decided to have a beer.

Yikes

Mileage:  Who the hell cares.

Knitting:  None, didn't bring it to NYC

Books: None... crazy right? I listened to the radio, it made me bonkers.  I started a book Monday morning.

While the week ended on a bit of a sour note with a pinched nerve, all in all I still have most of my humor and sanity, so we will call it a win.  Plus Dave doesn't have to explain to anyone why I was found in a bloody heap at the bottom of The Staircase.

Sincerely,
Beth, kinda scared about the century ride in NH, will the body that continues to betray me let me finish, and if it does will it unleash some version of hell on me the next day?  Tune in next week to see what I can try and find the humor or lesson in.

Forever in the % of we don't know what the f is wrong with you

Monday (1.5) Working from home most of the week as Dave is in NC.  It is really nice to get up and not have to rush around.  Jax gets me up early, which I don't appreciate since he has his breakfast, barks with his barking buddies, and then goes to sleep on his chair for an hour and then moves to the couch so he can stretch out.  I want to be my dog.

Do something for me -- Jax

Today was the follow up with the new Rheumatologist.  My labs continue to show massive inflammation but the Lupus markers from the previous 2 sets of labs were gone.  My chest x-ray shows no signs of interstitial lung disease, which is a good thing.  The bouts of pleurisy are short-lived and probably due to me overdoing it.  Undifferentiated Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder is now the diagnosis and Lupus falls under that umbrella as does Scleroderma, Sjogren's, and Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder.  It's all nasty stuff don't google it.  There could be other things (cancer) causing the inflammation but the doctor doesn't think that is anything to worry about as my symptoms are abated/controlled with the Plaquenil.  More labs and a follow up in 3 months. I seriously want to be my dog.

Wow Beth we have long legs -- Jax

Per usual, I am in that % of the study population where "rare occurance may happen".  51 years of this and I really should be used to it.  You never get used to it, believe me.  

Hello Turtle, sorry I punch you each time I go into the house  -- Jax

The new gravel tires, I settled on the 28mm, arrived and I put them on the Dolce.  I could have gone with 30mm there was enough space.  A quick cruise up and down the road showed these to be pretty comfy tires, I rode without bike shorts.  Granted it was just over a mile, but still even up and down the street on the Ruby in regular shorts is ouchy.  Got the breaks tightened up.  They weren't really grabbing on my test ride, so the downhill back home was a bit scary!!  I have to fiddle around with the shifters to get into the big ring and make shifting smoother.  I'm sure it's more a factor of sitting for years and not being used.  And put on the black bar tape.  The white was so freaking gross.  I know the handlebars get dirty but I don't want to see the grease, dirt, grime, and snot!!

Holy crap that was strong.
I don't remember walking the dog.

Jax took me for a walk and so ended our day.

Ugly disgusting Bar tape

Tuesday (1) The humidity dial was turned up.  Faith came over to deliver some beers and share some of mine and take Jax for a walk.  It was nice to have human interaction.  I forget I actually like talking to people after nearly 4 days of being alone.  I think I sidetracked the conversation no less than a billion times as a new thought sprung into my head and had to be released. 

Pretty clean bar tape

It was one of those days where I felt off all day.  It is weird, and generally, that is followed by a few days of feeling normal. Now if I could just figure out how to time these days to when i want to not feel off.

The Dog's Bed
His new Camping Bed

Wednesday (1) I have totally lost track of the days.  That is kind of nice, fortunately (or unfortunately) my life is scheduled around a calendar that pings when I need to know something or be somewhere.  Despite getting rousted at 5:30 a.m. with a thunder and lightning just around the corner from me I couldn't grasp the fact this would cause the humidity to lower as the day progressed.  I took Jax out early and it was humid and he was miserable.  I have a Wednesday night commitment so taking him when it was much drier and cooler wasn't going to happen anyhow.  It all seemed to work out and he seemed to figure out Dave was coming home sometime today so he's been on edge the entire freaking day.  Gak.  This must be similar to what it is like when the dogs (now dog) figured out I would be coming home that day.  Probably worse because Dave is gone for more than 8 or 12 hours like never.

Short Hike on a humid day

I've enjoyed my time working from home and getting actual work done and small chores around the house, those best done without a spouse staring over your shoulder.  

Marytr

Thursday (1) UGH back to going into work.  That was a bit of a shock to my system.  My new 'boss' from my 'temporary' assignment needed to re-re-schedule our meeting to be right smack dab in my 2-hour run/walk/eat lunch window.  I couldn't re-re-re-schedule this, I just couldn't.  I think I scare her a little bit because she has only managed very low-level people and is used to an overreaction to her requests.  I get to requests in a reasonable amount of time and I know if I knee-jerk on something it always goes poorly.  I need to think things through before acting.    We had a small kerfuffle over a request from a senior leader with a little panic on her part that I wasn't moving fast enough so more people got thrown in the mix and well, we looked bad.  I think we've moved past that.  It was one of the things I directly asked her about.  She also needs to feel more secure with me I think that helped.  

Hello Dinner Ball -- Jax

Dave was busy getting out of vacation mode and into work mode and had no interest in taking Jax on a hike.  I took him on an in town walk and he really seems to be hating these less and less.  

My present!

Friday (3.5 & 30)  Time to get back to getting exercise.  I took a week off, I probably needed it mentally.  

Those two birds watched Jax walk by and he didn't even notice them.

Ro and I did the 'easy' beach loop and when I got home I had a short rest and then went out for a 20-mile ride that turned into a 30-mile ride and ended up getting locked out of the house.  I REALLY need to remember house keys!!!  

Marshmallow Farm!

I did a modified Tour de Farms, I added on a loop through Eric's neighborhood. Ahhh, it was a very nice ride.

Good beer

Saturday (4 & 2)  Volunteered at Run with The Beavers at the water stop midway through the loop.  Always fun.  I'm finally figuring out how to hand off to the elites.  Always a good time and I enjoyed catching up with Shawn about his knee replacement.  There is hope for decrepit old before their time bodies!!

Hambone

Took Jax on a walk about town after I finally got the gravel grinder gears and breaks under control.  Damn the Ultegra components are nice and work well.  The Shimano I have on Dolly are so clunky!!  Can't wait to get her out on the gravel roads.  Probably not till August as there are other commitments in the near future.

Excellent Beer

Sunday (30 & 1) I bailed on riding with Mikey from the Y at 6:45 because it was supposed to rain.  It was raining pretty hard when I was up at 4:30 a.m. so I figured I made the right call.  I didn't.  Jax had us up at 6:30 and it was foggy but not rainy.  I went out about an hour later for what started as a loop ride to get 30 miles but the weather kept getting better and better... silly weather predictions.   

Bike, coffee, chocolate croissant YUMMY!

We took Jax for a romp at the field and he was such a goof!!!  He enjoyed wading in the pond and was pretty stinky.  He got a bath, before dinner.  He wasn't so pleased but our noses were!  Boxers are pretty clean dogs, so they get a yearly bath if that.   Gizzy and Gus got one in the fall and spring because it really helped loosen the shedding fur.  

The only plant I can't kill!

Mileage:  Oh who cares anymore?

Knitting:  Slow progress is progress.  There was a flaw in the yarn dyeing, I still didn't start them at the same spot coupled with the flaw, they don't mirror image each other.

Reading:  Listened to Crimetown Pod cast on Providence.  It left me wondering if we stopped glamorizing criminals if they would lose their appeal?  I also wonder if people really did the correct thing instead of what would advance them or not piss someone off, if we'd be better for it? Or basically people are evil and some can control it while others cannot?  

All in all a pretty good week.  I got off my bum and did something and felt better for it, funny how that works!

Sincerely,
Beth, wondering what the next set of test results will reveal