Good-bye to an old friend
Our dog Molly with Claire, a great niece (2006)
Earlier this year we made the hard decision to put our dog to sleep after a long, slow decline and irreversible health problems. Molly was more than a pet, she was a member of our family for 14 years. She was a beautiful Beagle that brightened our lives. She was always happy to see us and was with us through all the ups and downs that life brings. My Dad was a dog lover all of his life and after having a major stroke that left him aphasic and partially paralyzed, he seemed to especially enjoy Molly's visits. No language is needed to communicate with a dog and their love is unconditional.
So this weekend we finally gave Molly her freedom and buried her cremated remains in the back yard, beyond where the fence that she was always escaping was (until recently), in a nice spot under a tree. For the past 4 months we've had a little shrine to Molly on the top of our entertainment center; her urn, picture, and collar. Visitors thought it was a little creepy, but it was our way of paying tribute to a beloved family member. All dogs go to heaven and I hope to make it there myself someday and be greeted by all these 4-legged friends who have blessed my life.
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Mama Mia, Visit to Winery, Overnight in Sioux Falls
It has been a great weekend. Saturday started with a short bike ride - only 10 miles but a good work out. Average heart rate 161 for 37 minutes. I was working hard but still only averaged 16.1 mph. But it got the day off to a good start.Later it was off to Sioux Falls where we met some friends. We saw the musical Mama Mia together in Las Vegas this winter and have anxiously been waiting to see the movie. We all thought it was AWESOME! Luckily it wasn't' the sing-a-long version, that would have been annoying!
Next we drove out to Renner to the Strawbale Winery and we enjoyed a bottle of black current wine while sitting out on the patio - what a beautiful place, very relaxing!
Then we made an appearance at our friend's daughter's and husband's place for their Labor Day party. Another glass of wine - this was white wine mixed with pomegranate juice with raw sugar along the rim of the glass - yummy!
The rest of the evening was spent walking along downtown, listening to music, a great meal at Minerva's, and some more walking. We stayed at the downtown Holiday Inn.
We intended to walk to Monk's but didn't make it there - I was a little disappointed but we all agreed to come back and go next time.
Sunday morning we enjoyed more visiting over several cups of coffee and brunch. We said god bye to our friends and Charlie and I ran some errands before coming home.
To top off a great day, the oldest daughter and husband and youngest daughter and boyfriend joined us for grilled steaks and all the trimmings. Oh, and Maggie, our grand-dog got to come along for the visit. She is turning into a very nice dog as she grows out of the puppy stage.
It's sad to think this is the last hurrah of summer! Here's looking forward to lots of beautiful fall weekends.
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Have I told you lately how much I love my bike?
After getting groceies after work and coming home and getting them all put away, I thought it was getting a bit late to think about going out for a bike ride. But I was inspired by the Hooterville Mayor who has made it his goal to get out and ride every day, even if it is just for a few short miles. With Charlie gone for the evening driving a bus trip, I didn't have anything better to do so I quickly changed and got out on the bike.What a beautiful evening! I did a 14 mile loop and averaged 15.3 mph, not a great average but it was a hilly route so I was happy with it. Since I was on some hills and the shadows were starting to get long, I turned on my Bike Planet blinky light. Wow, it seems like cars really give you a wide berth when you have an obnoxiously bright blinky light! They probably think I'm set to detonate at any moment!
The ride improved my mood immensly - I need to do this more often!
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From the Quotble Cyclist Book
"When I'm on my bike, I forget about things like age. I just have fun." Kathy Sessler
Filed under: Yoga, bike quotes
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Sunday Bike Ride
I rode the Irene-Viborg-Centerville-Wakonda loop again today, a nice 42 mile loop. Rather uneventful, a peacefull ride that allowed a lot of day dreaming. I made one stop in Centerville for a break - since the bakey was closed and I couldn't have an apple fritter - I stopped at the convenience store. I've become a regular there this summer and the folks are always very nice and at least seem interested when they ask where I'm biking to today. One interesting thing I saw was a large flock of turkeys (about 20) crossing highway 19.My husband and I went to Sioux Falls in search of a fire pit but decided for the price we could probably build something ourselves - or I should say, I'm confident my husband can build it! I did find the perfect arbor though. It was not in stock so had to be ordered but that will also be one of the fall projects on the "honey-do" list.
We ran into a friend at Lowes and chatted awhile. He is the county road supervisor so I asked him about what roads are going to be chipped sealed this year. Here is the bad news of the day - starting on Sep. 8th they will chip seal the Wakonda road (302 St), the road south of Meckling to the Timber Road, and the Burbank Road.
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Riding with the Guys
CDV posted a ride to our biking group for this morning (Saturday); distance ~50 miles, pace 16-17 mph. I have ridden a lot of long, slow distance rides this summer but have not been pushing my speed. Last Saturday with near perfect weather and assisted by a fast pace line, I managed a higher average speed and it felt good. Wanting to ride with the group at least for a few miles, I left my house about 6:30 am and rode towards Vermillion, meeting Biking Brady, CDV, KS, and DW about 3 miles out of Vermillion (21 miles into my ride). We rode for the next ~13 miles together but I could not maintain the pace posted. But being the gentlemen they are, they slowed down and Biking Brady and I rode a little behind CDV & DW.The guys are so strong and I admire how easily they attack the hills and their speed. I'm glad they let me tag along to give me the chance to push myself more than I normally would if I was riding alone the entire ride.
Having to get back for a 9:30 bridal shower, after departing ways as the guys went on to Centerville, I tried to keep going strong. I had 39.33 miles on my bike computer when I got home and being a bit OCD, I had to keep riding to hit the 40 mile mark, even though it was already 9:10 and I had to shower and get ready for the shower.
It felt good to get a 40 mile ride in and I was only a few minutes late for the shower! This afternoon we're off to a wedding!
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Big Friend, Little Friend Ride at Elk Point
Loved this ride! Cindy and I started off sucking the wheels of a pace line of about 8Siouxland cyclists for about the first 25 miles - that was fun! Around the Spink overpass the group broke up as some riders skipped the Union Grove loop. Of course, we chose to ride all the miles so we headed up towards the park. By this time Ed had joined us.
We were on a time schedule as Cindy had a wedding to attend in Brookings - so there was no lollygagging! But we were riding at a pretty good pace and found ourselves a bit ahead of schedule which meant we had time to share a piece of pie at the Spink Cafe.
It was a perfect day for a ride and the three of us had a great time riding together. We finished with an aveage speed of 17.3 mph for the 55 mile ride. So we even had time for a quick bite to eat at Los Amigos in Elk Point before Cindy's husband picked her up.
This was my fastest average speed of the year and it felt good!
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A Great Bicycle Quote from the “Quotable Cyclist” Book
"It is no longer a beast of steel....no....it is a friend. Destiny has accorded man (woman!) this new friend. It is a faithful and powerful ally against one's worst enemies. It is stronger than anxiety, stronger than sadness. It has all the power of hope." Maurice Leblanc, Wins to Fly
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Saturday Century Ride
I love riding my bike! Especially now when I’m feeling my strongest following RAGBRAI a few weeks ago and the MS Ride last weekend, so I just want to ride as much as I can! Charlie is enjoying his hobby; restoring a car he bought earlier this summer which gives me time to bike without feeling guilty!I seriously thought of going to Watertown to ride their century ride on Saturday with a biking friend, I really wanted to go but didn’t want to spend a 4th consecutive weekend away from home for a bike ride. I decided to do my own century around home. But I also wanted to sleep in a little and didn’t get started until 7:30 am. A stiff south wind also slowed me down and I wasn’t sure I would get a century accomplished but I took it slow and easy. With seven hours of riding time (14.3 mph average) and two total hours of break time, I finally finished at 4:30 pm.
A perfect day; I got to spend the day riding, we grilled steaks for supper, and then spent a quiet evening watching a movie!
One more thing, I had lunch in Vermillion at HyVee with my minister who happened to be there at the same time. We had a really nice visit, I found out that on RAGBRAI we went through the area of Iowa where she grew up and she has family that continues to live there. It happened to be my favorite part of Iowa and I remember the area well (some of the towns run together that we went through and don’t stand out). I want to go back sometime to the Lisbon, Mount Vernon area, it is very Americana, like a Norman Rockwell print. We were talking about biking and pastor said to me, “I never realized you were such a hard core biker.” I don’t think of myself as hard core but I told her my motto: “Anything worth doing is worth over doing!” I have thrown myself into a few serious hobbies over the year; ie. genealogy (I dragged my husband through a lot of cemeteries!), scrapbooking, etc., but I never would have dreamed I would take up biking!
Map of my ride – never more than 25 miles from home.
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