happy wintering...

winter
has set in here in the North.
the arrival of over a foot of snow in 24 hours
tends to have the feel of instant tundra
and as a Minnesotan 
one fears 
this is it.
no breaks from winter for a very long time.
luckily, we had another phenomenal Autumn
and no early winter,
so at worst we are only looking at less than 3 months
of deep, dark, winter.
After 6 years 
it has become easier for me 
to wrap my head around 
winter
and try to maintain a positive air.

Happy Hyggelig Thanksgiving!...

It was an OUTSTANDING Day for a ride.
I'm always Thankful for Thanksgiving Day rides,
today was no exception.
60 degrees
Sunny
Calm.
Ahhhh...sigh...
Perfection!

and,
true to Minnesota form,
6 hours later it began snowing.
so it begins...

Minne Miss...

My Tuesday Commute - the Mighty Minne
My Saturday Ride - the Mighty Miss

Deep down I am terrified of what happens when all these leaves fall
and when my Sun leaves me.
BUT
on the surface I am maintaining a happy face
and riding my bicycle as much as time allows.

Happy Autumn from Minneapolis!
Please stay awhile...

daily life...

If you live in Minneapolis there are two things

that enhance daily life.

Adam Turman's art and

The Current.

This year the two have combined,

check it out here.

I bought Bridges Blue/Red for H as a gift a few years ago.

Having this print in our house

is a daily reminder of what 

enhances 

life

in

Minneapolis.

Even when/Especially when,

my most dreaded season is upon us.

really really nice...

It was
really nice
having this view
for a few days.
Really 
REALLY 
nice.

Positive
life
changes
always come
from this.

Summer's last hoorah,
now gives way
to
Autumn's whisper.

Focus
begins...

Summer Lovin'...

Summer is my favorite time of year.

I have not been here much,

and I am glad for it.

Because 

I have been soaking in

every

single

moment

of

Sun

and

warmth.

I plan to continue my

Summer Life,

and as time allows may stop in here

for a visit.

A few weeks ago

I planned a night

of enjoying

Summer,

our bicycles,

good food,

and new-to-us entertainment.

Happy Midsommar!!!..

Today I will...

bask in the sunshine

ride my bicycle

stay up late in the twilight.

Midsommar...

my absolute 

favorite 

time of the year.

Wish that it could

last

forever.

well done nature!...

I am catching my breath a bit right now
and stopping to smell the flowers.


I am just loving my
Zinnia's
Cleome
Alternanthera
and of course,
Lavender,
this year.


Well done nature!

bike after work day...

i need my meditation

so I can enjoy my socialization


i didn't bike to work today,
i really don't do that these days.
more important to me
is biking after work.
unwinding,
meditating,
sun time,
me time.
no computers,
no e-mails,
no smart phones,
no complaints.
i need this time,
so i can hang
with my bikish friends,
who do bike to work,
and everywhere.
we all do our own thing.
respect it.
i do...

island time...

Another long day at the office,
too little time or energy to get out on a lycra ride.
But I needed some zen time,
some bicycle time,
some me time.


It had been awhile,
a long while,
but what I needed
was to hop on the Pash
and feel like I was
on my Summer Island.

health and happiness...

I have been taking some time to take care for myself.

When you are 41,
you shouldn't mess around.
Take care of who you are 
in 
every 
aspect
of 
the 
word.

Brooklyn ~ bridge and shoe love...

One of the best things I did for myself in Brooklyn last week was to
walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
There are some things as an American that I truly believe you should do, and this is one.
As Americans we often take for granted the things we have,
and the work of those who came before us.
It was nice to have the time to 
slow down and appreciate.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day and people from all over the world were here.
The whole experience gave me goose bumps!
I can't wait to walk across this again someday with H.
Everything about it took my breath away.

Brooklyn Springtime interlude...

Before I head back to February to talk about San Francisco,

let's enjoy the present...

I was in Brooklyn this week for work,

but lucky enough to have a little free time to explore.

These windows pretty much say it all...

Happy Spring Everyone!

Some of you may be celebrating what you call Easter,

I prefer to view my Holiday's for their true origins...Ēostre.

Regardless, may you feast and enjoy Spring Flowers!

I am also over at the MBC today, come visit.

this is just us...

so after a few days in the desert,
we needed to be by water.
real water.

Palm Springs: The Truths...

I have some things to say about Palm Springs,
Truths about Palm Springs,
that I hope will be helpful to those of you thinking of going
sort out fact from fiction.
You see, Palm Springs gets pretty hyped up
on some of the popular blogs and magazines,
but I felt the reality was far different than the hype.

Palm Springs: Prologue...

There are two things I love.
The Sun and Mid-Century Modern.

When we lived in Denver
we owned our dream home.
It was the late 90's/early 2000's
and no one was really paying any attention
to Mid-Century Modern.
But we were,
and we loved it.
Our house was like nothing we had ever seen before,
we were beyond excited to own such a gem.
Despite the fact that the house had not been cared for
and needed all sorts of work,
we loved her
and we began to dive in on making her our own.

lucky enough...

I am not lucky enough 
right now 
to be living in California.
But until that day comes again,
I was lucky enough
to spend half of my February 'home'.
sigh...


CA i love you
CA i miss you


Now I am back in MN,
a layer of this weird white stuff is all over outside,
and the first thing I did after picking up the pups 
was clean the bathroom.
Oh how easily the CA bubble bursts...



I will be sharing
a few of my 
NorCal
and
SoCal
adventures
in the following posts.


Happy March Everyone!
May it be good to all of us.
I miss more than CA,
I miss my bicycle...

harumphy...

So, Christmas is over
and I am feeling a bit harumphy.
I really shouldn't complain,
I mean look at the loves of my life up there!
Who can complain when this is your reality?!!
But...
I always dislike Christmas a bit.
Family drama I try to avoid, and then the guilt for avoiding.
I always feel a bit relieved when it is all over,
ready to move on to longer days
and Summer.

I really shouldn't complain,
I mean look at the weather we have been having!
50+ degrees and Sunny the day after Christmas?
Why...I feel so NorCal...

and YOU KNOW that makes this gal so happy.
So Happy.

I really shouldn't complain,
I have two great adventures planned in the next two months,
and a work trip is brewing to return to my hyggelig.
I have a lot to be excited about.

But then that winter melancholy sets in...
We used to be all about adventuring,
now it seems more like we have been forced to be about maintaining.
In a nutshell, it sucks.
I can take all that damn vitamin d,
throw that sunlamp on in the morning,
think positive thoughts,
plan trips,
but at the end of the day some days,
it just plain sucks.
There, I said it.
Now, on to being less harumphy...


Time to lose the winter weight,
get that head screwed back on tight,
and start figuring it out.
At 40.5, that clock waits for no one...

I am not sure where my hyggelig is headed in 2012.
I have been here for 5 years,
in fact this is post #681.
Typically at this time I take a hiatus,
to focus on life outside of the computer box.
I think I will continue that trend this year.
Right now I have no friday hyggelig's lined up,
no guest posts,
nothing.
I need to refocus.

I've got something pretty exciting planned for myself in January.
Something to teach me new things, take me out of my comfort zone,
to meet new people, to be independent.
I plan to be back here to talk about either how it completely inspired me or
how it completely deflated me. Likely the first...

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me despite my divergent posts on biking, sewing, biking, family, biking, gardening, biking, art, biking... I may not have a singular focus, be controverisal, like to debate, or a professional bent, but the fact I have been here so long says something about this space. When I discuss quitting blogging with H, he so kindly always asks why I would want to and extolls all the great things about blogging. That's from a man who only tweets. Recognizing what makes us who we are, focusing on what is important, sharing that with others ~ that's what it is all about.

And thank you also to you newbies to my hyggelig. I see you out there, and I appreciate your visits. May you find something in this space in 2012.

For now,
I am officially ON HIATUS...
see you back here in 2012..

Thank You Stellar November...

Trek, Minneapolis, & Me
2012.11.25

I am really thankful
for having a few nice long days off.
AND
the stellar November weather this year.
Holiday rides are always the best,
quiet,
reflective,
meditative.
Holiday rides over Thanksgiving?!
Now those can never be beat.
Especially,
when you live in Minnesota,
and this time last year
winter
had already set in,
and hard...

I needed this time.
Each ride makes me feel better
physically
and mentally.


The only bummer is that we had one snow
and of course it became ice and required
lots of sand and salt that is still on the trails.
I found myself riding on the margins to stay out of the
wet and sand for most of my rides this long weekend.
Luckily as I turned to head home there was this nice stretch
of sand-free and sun-filled bliss.

Trek will probably be staying inside now,
and out of the salt and sand.
November,
it was fun while it lasted...

This was an accidental picture I took.
I rather like it.

repair and respect...

For about the last two months of riding season
(which sadly I have deemed as officially over)
I had this nagging problem when I was out riding.
I ride a lot in this zone, and every time I did,
the bike began to have a mind of its own.

In early September I had a cable issue
that essentially turned my bicycle ride
into a fixie ride for a number of miles
until I could limp into my usual shop.
I thought the change in cables after this would solve the issue,
but it kept getting worse.

Anytime I could bring the Trek in, I wanted to ride,
so I just kept suffering through the annoyance.
Finally, after I rolled 1000, it was time.

H and I like to support good people doing good things,
so Trek was taken to a new shop.
I was a bit nervous because a lot of bicycle shop dudes
don't really speak 'girl speak' and turn to the guy to have a conversation.
Especially when they race together during Cross Season,
or so I feared.

Not Dan.
I told Dan my issues, and it was instantly clear he knows A LOT about bicycles.
I asked him to keep the Trek for a few days to really diagnose the issue.
He came back with another cable replacement
and a gold 'tooth' (ferrule).

And then, the snow set in.

So I haven't been able to get her out for a ride,
but I did officially begin my QTT this weekend
and she shifted with grace.
The forecast is predicting Sunny and 53 on Thanksgiving.
I think you know where I will be...

I appreciate that Dan treated me with complete respect.
And when I had stopped to take my cassette picture,
two groups of male riders yelled out "Everything Okay?"
to me as they passed by.
I always appreciate the bicycling community,
the fact that folks have got my back,
and knowing I am not out there alone.
And yes,
I was MORE thank OKAY,
I was on my bicycle and it was a beautiful day.

Trek and I have been together for nearly 4000 miles.
I think in the Spring she is going to need more than a cable.
I am looking forward to giving her some tweaks,
and taking her with me for the next 4000...