Happy Sunny Day

This week has been a roller coaster of emotion. One day it's happy and sunny and the next is sad and gloomy. Such is life.

Here's a happy sunny one for the books. A fun story, too.

It's a family tradition to make chicken tortilla soup around Halloween. Mom started it when we were kids and my sister and I have both carried it on since leaving home. Mine has been transforming over the years, receiving more and more veggies and less chicken. This year, Mr. Chicken (along with his friend Betsy's bath water) were not invited to dinner. The only trace of the animal world that made it into my pot was anchovies. Yeah! Did you know that worcestershire sauce has anchovies!? Well, I figured I was making so many changes that if I changed the seasoning too, it wouldn't taste anything like the original. So I used it and the steak sauce it called for.

Sunday was the day to make... Cabbage Tortilla Soup (working title). All I needed was the steak sauce. I road over to the neighborhood grocery store. Eek, it was twice what I wanted to pay for it. Road over to another neighborhood grocery store. Same story. It was a beautiful fall day and I was in no big hurry. Hmmm. Save a buck? Save an hour? Save a buck!

I headed to the closest dollar store by way of the river. Ah. The river path in fall.




I usually take the streets half way, but not today. It was so nice out. The river drew me further and I let it. I let myself get lost. As I passed under bridges, I wondered what street they were. Feeling carefree, I didn't bother to find out. I just kept riding.




Seeing others enjoying the day. Walking hand in hand. Playing with their dogs. A girl riding an almost identical bike. I road until I realized how far I had gone and decided it was time to resurface. To the streets.




Back tracking a bit to reach my previously desired destination. I was riding in the streets not long before I spotted a dollar bill on the side walk. Making a quick change to the sidewalk, I snatched it up. Woohoo! I road a few more blocks and actually saw a quarter in the street, but there was too much traffic to stop and pick it up. I made it to the dollar store. Purchased the steak sauce with my new found dollar and only 7 cents from my own pocket. I road home happy and content with the final ingredient to my highly anticipated soup.

Tuesday Travels - Adventures in Bicycle Thrift Shopping

Riding past a thrift store the other day, I was drawn in to see if there were any treasures to be found. I ended up finding more treasures than 1. I have the money for and 2. arms to carry them home.

It didn't stop me from pushing the limits. I had to do some major rearranging to fit everything. I actually sat outside the store and ate a snack that went from being carried in my backpack to being carried in my belly. It took quite a bit of concentration to balance the very full suitcase on the handlebars and my backpack not only couldn't zip closed, but I'm pretty sure this was the cause of one of the straps tearing.



Aaaah. it was worth it. I and my treasures made it home in one piece. (Funny Fact: Someone sitting on their porch saw me riding by and asked if I wanted to take a break and have a glass of water. I politely declined. I wonder how far they thought I was traveling.)

If I get reincarnated as a children's book character, it will likely be The Cat in the Hat.


Among the treasures were...







matching green vintage luggage





with this rad Bahamas sticker





cool vintage glasses and a brand new donut shaped stone (that I have used to warm up tortilla chips and then sat the salsa in the middle...the best part, the stone stays warm and therefore keeps the chips warm longer!!)





and it looks like I'm going to be painting some more mushrooms (don't tell me you forget about the mushroom shoes). Check out this line up!



Treasures I drooled over, but did not take home...

This very colorful throw





A whole row of super sweet vintage chairs in pristine condition

And this amazing ?game? that had all my favorite retro colors and beautiful illustrations.

I should have just bought it. Really it was a steal for $80 because to me, its a piece of art. If I was driving a car, it probably would have come home with me.

Wild Wednesday: Bicycle Gang

A few months ago, I started gathering other bikers to ride around Final Friday (Wichita's Art Gallery Crawl). The first month there were only 2 of us, but then in July there were 10!! All the rain cooled things off...that probably helped a weee bit. August was another 100 degree scorcher, but there were still 4 of us out there sweatin' and we had a great time.

The Bicycle Gang is growing!! If you are in the Wichita area this Friday, come join us!

Kitty went to market

I have been borrowing my sister's pink Hello Kitty bike. It's definitely not ME, but it feels good to be mobile again. Early Saturday morning, Kitty made her first trip to the farmers market.

Although I did carry most of the goodies in my backpack, it was fun to put some of them in the front basket.

The loot! Loving the variety right now!!

Warning: Ugly post with Ugly pictures

As most of you know now, my bike and I did the tango with a car last week. I spent over an hour on the phone with the insurance adjuster tonight and just finished emailing her pictures. For those of you who like seeing this sort of thing, here ya go.


Quick blurry pics taken during check-in at the hospital. Notice the lovely lump near my ankle.

Arriving home and being reunited with my bike.

Yes, my handlebars are now parallel with my front tire.

I'm pretty sure this guy gave me the largest lump on my leg.

The adjuster requested a photo of my face with my leg. I explained this to my mom who took the picture. Her response, "little does she know, you can put your legs behind your head." lol Yes, thank you, Mom! That would have been a very awkward but funny picture to send.

So besides some bruising, there is still a hard lump on my leg....aka a hematoma. (A hematoma is a hard lump that develops at the site of the bruise, it's actually a small amount of blood pooling into the fatty tissues under the skin.)

I have been hopping around on the other foot and using crutches so far. My uninjured leg and the rest of my body is feeling the strain. A massage is definitely in order.

Kansas Wild Flowers

Just a few weeks ago, during my ritual ride to the Saturday morning farmers market, I rode past this gorgeous field of wild flowers.

Makes me day dream that I'm wearing a long flowing white dress and twirling around barefoot through them all.

We need more wild flowers in the world.
Beauty. Bees. Food. Health. mmmmm. yes.
Happiness.

bike ride and popsicles

 I went for a nice little bike ride today, and timed it just right to stop by the farmers market along the way. It was gorgeously sunny out and I think I finally got some color on my thighs. Woohoo!

A homemade popsicle was the perfect reward and did the trick of cooling me off.

About that popsicle. So it's been on my list to make homemade popscicles this summer. I don't have any fancy molds and wasn't quite sure what I was going to use. So I just improvised, like I always do.

A week or so ago, I made homemade 'ice cream' in the blender using coconut milk, strawberries, pineapple, and maybe a banana (I can't remember now). It made the thickest yummiest ice cream ever.

Look how tall it is!!

I ate part of it and divided the rest up into 2 glasses. Stuck a spoon into each while it was still thick and the spoon stood up in the middle, then stuck it in the freezer.

When I got home today, I let it sit on the counter to thaw a bit. That made it able to slide out. I was surprised how well it stayed on the spoon. Mmmm, it was tasty.

bike ride

Sunday, was predicted to be one of the last nice days for awhile. So we hopped on our bikes and went on a 25  mile ride. I hadn't ridden my bike in months. Well actually, I hadn't gotten much exercise at all in months. Surprisingly, besides slightly sore knees and rear end, I held up fairly well.

And the gorgeous views were a good distraction. There were lots of cows, horses, even sheep, mules, chickens, and goats along the way. It was late afternoon so in attempt to make it home before dark, I only stopped once to take a few shots.

Here's a fun way to visualize the route. The mountains run parallel on the west side. The southeast corner of Lake Tahoe can be seen on the far left.

So who's coming to visit? =)

Cruisin

Got up early and went for another bike ride with my sister yesterday. Good thing we got out there when we did because it got up to 111 degrees. yikes!

Yeah so I stayed indoors for the majority of the day and worked. And guess what?!! I finished my dress!! Yes, yes I did. So freaking excited to be done. It fit's perfect. Now I must schedule a photoshoot. =D

Bike ride with my sis

It has been ages since my sister and I went on a bike ride together. She got her first cruiser this spring. It's pink! of course :)



The weather was exceptionally nice today with a little breeze this evening so we rode around the neighborhood. It sure is convenient staying 2 doors down at my dads :)

September Favorites

Ah, September. How I love thee. No hard feelings October, you're pretty nice too. But I love September. After seeing all the pictures I've taken in the last month that never got posted, I've decided to share them here collectively now so they don't get filed away and never shared at all.

September 2010 Favorites

a new yummy, healthy place.... Green Acres



garage saling goodness...





fun nights of PICTIONARY!!!


Some Lego 'art'



walking in the sunflowers with my nephew





bike rides in pretty neighborhoods...



discovering new favorite artists at Final Friday



and Thrifting!!