-How much we enjoy what we have is much more important than how much we have. Life is full of people who have more than they know what to do with, but cannot be content. It is the capacity to enjoy life that brings contentment.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Julie Day

The nice thing about working somewhere for 20 years is you have vacation to use so every once in awhile I take what I call a Julie day. I try not to do any house work etc. Today was alittle different tomorrow is the turkey fry so Bill was also home and his friend Dan is here. So we did some cleaning. This afternoon i took off in my car with the bike in the back and went to the Baxter Trail. It was just to windy to fight the roads so that is why I didnt ride to the trail. I really enjoy riding I just feel so free. Today I saw. A baby garder snake, I about ran over him. A wild turkey, Some canadian Geese, two cats and about 4 goats that got on the trail. The squirrels were very busy today, makes me wonder if we are in for a hard winter. This trail goes through alot of farm land. So there were a couple of combines hard at work. The trees have turned more since the last time I was on the trail and everything seems to be getting ready for winter.

Hopefully I will have some pics of the turkey fry to put on Sunday. We usually have a great time. Hope that this year is the same.

To me this is what Iowa is about..can't tell that I am an ole farm girl now can you!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

1st 2006 Fall bike ride

I finally got outside on the bike again. I have been riding inside on a trainer because it just gets dark to fast to ride after work. It was a beautiful day to ride especially if you were riding south very nice tail wind. The folage is starting to change colors, farmers are starting to harvest and it is nice and cool out. My kind of weather. I even had a passanger for a while..a little sweat bee needed a lift.

My bike now has 1746 miles on it. I was/am hoping for 2000 miles this year. I do not know if I will make it or not. I need to get in some long distance days, however the next few weeks i am busy on the weekend and then we are off on a nice cruise but you never know I might get a burst of enery and do 250 miles in a couple of weeks. I doubt it but you never know.

My biking partner for a little bit.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Summer Projects For 2006

We got this years summer projects done for the house. Alittle background. We bought our home about 11 years ago. It is an older house with alot of charactor but it needed a lot of work. We also got a very nice, big back yard. Since we have bought the house we have repainted it, put in a sliding glass door and reroofed. Build two decks, a fire pit, a new garage and various other thing. We are getting very close to having it all done.

This is what the house looked like from the backyard when we first bought it. You will notice the lovely pea green color and that there is not a nice big garage like we have now.



We built a 2.5 car garage but instead of tearing the old garage down we unhooked it one saturday put it on a flat wagon and moved it to the backyard. It was not quite as easy as that sounds. To get the garage to the backyard we had to drive it up the street two houses and across our neighbors backyards. We call this the traveling garage because it originally came from the house across the street from us and when they built a new garage it was moved to the house that we bought. They made things to last back in the 30's.





When we bought the house there was a lot of shrubs and old trees between us and our neighbor. When the new neighbors moved in the cleaned out all of the old tree and shrubs and just planted grass. I enjoy decorative grasses so I planted some in front of the house well they did a little to well. So last year I dug them all up and Bill and I took 7 grasses split or cut them into thirds and transplanted them between the houses. I actually gave away two big clumps because I didnt have room for them. This spring I was out talking to them willing the to grow. And grow they did. I am very proud of my transplanted grasses.





For the past 5 years we have held a annual Crappy Turkey fry. The past three years during the summer we have had a project to get finished for the festivities. First was the staircase into the back yard, then the actual deck was built off of the garage and this year we put in the new fire pit, peagraveled about the house, outdoor speakers and Bill put in the patio garden for me. If you have never been to our house and are invited to the Turkey fry..come on over we usually have a great time. Most of the time more fun then we can handle...

We have done all of the renovations ourself except for framing the garage, roofing the house and putting in the sliding glass door. We did all of the drywalling for the garage and sliding glass door. We could not have gotten all of this done without the help of great friends..thanks goes to Dan M...my second hubby, Fred a true friend, Reggie a great ex Neighbor, Roy and Little Roy great ex neighbors, Jim a pain in the butt but a great guy... T.J, Britney, Dillon, Jacy, and Jasmine the neighborhood kids that for some reason loved being gophers for Bill and Dan. Also to Gerard, Leanne, Hannah, Bobbette and Bernie, Fred and Lea, Reggie and Lorie, and I know I have missed some, our great friends who have helped us break in our decks and firepits.... Peace....



Saturday, September 16, 2006

Iowa Speedway

Last night Bill had the pleasure of going to the first race at the new Iowa Speedway. He also was lucky enough to enjoy the race from a Suite. Spoiled Kid...below are some pictures that he took. Hope you enjoy them.











Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Labor Day 24 Hour Race Pics

OOPs....



Mary and Kyle at the scorers table



Shelby and Friend



Kyle R. mixing his secret brew



Not sure who this is I was messing around with camera features...



Kyle R. and Kyle S. checking things out.



Kyle R showing us his best end.....

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Never Forget 9/11

Rest in Peace Jim, We miss you.

Monday, September 04, 2006

What a Beautiful Day

It was an absolutely beautiful day today so I took off on another bike ride, Bill was suppose to go but he found that couch and I could not move him. This time i went West towards Ira. Ira is this little town that if you blink you will miss it. It is a 12 mile ride to Ira from where I live. Once there I hopped on the Baxter Trail otherwise known as the Chichaqua Trail which runs from Bondurant to Baxter. I have to take old paved roads to get there..



The Chichaqua Trail is an old railroad bed. Railroads fasinate me, I think they do because they are from a simplier time and are almost a thing of the past. Maybe in another life I was a hobo. :)







I road as far as Mingo then turned around. I knew that I had the 12 miles of wind and hills to ride back home.

Now this sign can be a bikers best friend or worse enemy, it just depends on if you are going down or up. Unfortunately I had to do both.



I took the following riding up the hill, I wouldnt recommend It, I about ran off the road.







The wind and the hills were tough today but If I had not gone I would have missed this beautiful day. I will say I bonked on the way home. Once again I didnt eat right. I need to stop doing that. For those of you who do not know what Bonked is, it is when you totally run out of energy and the best you can hope for is to limp your way home.







I cannot wait until the leaves start to change. Then there will be more rides and pictures. Hopefully my friend Julie will join me for a few of those...Well that's all for now.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Saturday Bike Ride

I figured that since I shampooed carpets all day yesterday today was my day. ok after breaking up a cat fight, picking up the table and starting laundry, it was my day so I decided to go for a bike ride and I brought my camera along.

Can you find the turkey vulture in this pic?



People often ask me why I prefer riding on the roads compared to the trails. Most trails are made from old railroad tracks so you don't encounter the hills. Hills and wind are natures trainer. Give me hills over wind anyday. I also feel on the road I have more room to manuver. It is just my preference.

Both of the hills below are headed out of the river bottom. One East and One West. I judge how I am feeling that day by the one that goes East. Nice little hill. But the fun part is you get to go down them. I have reached over 30 MPH on both of them.. Wooo Hooo!

East:



West:



Breakfast of Champions...pop tarts...brown sugar and cinnamon my favorite.



This Picture is for Julie S...look at all of that corn in those beans...*gasp*



This is the Skunk River look for the waving photographer.



At one point in the ride there were 7 vultures hovering over head, I didnt think I looked or smelled that bad but I could have been wrong.



My least favorite hill. I think it is my least favorite because it comes after a mile long incline.



Farmland:



I finally made it home and saw that I had a few problems with the bike chain and crank, what is the old saying cobblers kids have no shoes well it is the same for Bike mechanics wives. Bike mechanics wives have dirty chains, cranks and gears...shame shame Bill!!