Monday, December 6, 2010

Thanksgiving, Furniture and Biking

The last couple weeks have been fairly uneventful but a few exciting moments have brightened the relatively sunny skies here in California.


First, our furniture from Chicago finally arrived. We had hoped to sell the house and then move it out but with the market the way it is our house has not sold. While Andy and I both think it probably shows better full of furniture we got sick of not having a dining room table, guest room furniture and a couch in the living room. Plus, when I moved out to California in March I packed 2 bags of clothes that I brought on the plane so my wardrobe was becoming somewhat limited---especially with the change of seasons. I am happy to have a few sweaters, etc. out in California now. However, I am very happy that I don’t exactly need super warm clothes for the “winter.” I am not trying to rub it in to those readers who are still enduring winter in the east and midwest, but, I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am about the absence of snow, ice and frigid temperatures. I do have a visit back to Chicago in 10 days and I am glad I dug my winter coat out of the boxes because it seems the bitter cold has descended on Chicago.


Second, we had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner at my friend John’s house with his family---32 people! Being an only child with a small family in the midwest (ie, mom and dad) it was definitely the largest Thanksgiving I have ever been to. I cannot be more thankful to have meant such a great training partner. His family is wonderful and have adopted the 2 midwesterners who live at the top of the hill.


Third, Andy’s mom made a trip out to Napa to check out our digs. We took her to some of our favorite restaurants and she was here for the arrival of the furniture. She loves to decorate so she helped organize the furniture for a few days. Also, it was wonderful that once the furniture arrived she was able to sleep on a real bed and not two air mattresses stacked on top of each other. She said the air mattresses were very comfortable but once the bed came she admitted it was much better. We deflated those air mattresses and put them away! Perhaps we will use them if we camp next year at Wildflower.


Last, I am still doing A LOT of biking. Now, let me tell you, every time I get on the bike I am so excited to be on the road. I do a lot of saying (to myself) “I can’t believe it is and I am still riding outside.” Sometimes I have to deal with some rain and wet roads but it is much better than the computrainer EVERY. SINGLE.DAY. Plus, I used to get very nervous at races if it was raining and the roads were wet but this riding has made me tougher and more comfortable in bad conditions. However, hail hitting your face at 20mph does not feel good. So, while a lighter rain is okay, I prefer to stay indoors when it is a big storm. To date---and I am keeping count----I have been on the trainer once since my off season ended. That works for me!


Currently, I am on my way to Victoria for some time with Coach and a couple of bike and run tests to see where we are; and how far we have to go.


No blog would be complete without a couple random pictures so here they are (in no particular order):


Pretty view on a ride that was sunny and hailing within 20 minutes of each other. I got in my 4 hours though. Those dark clouds are foreboding....

The vines are green and ground gold during the summer and then it flip flops. The vines looked amazing against the green grass that came up after just a few rainy days.

Really random...she is a weird cat. She must check everything out.

1 comment:

  1. Stormy isn't weird!!! She's smart and exploratory, like Lewis and Clark :)

    ReplyDelete