April (May, June) Showers

Rain continues day and night. A planned WAACO ride Saturday evening looked a lot like a bunch of people waiting at the bus stop. Rain poured down by the bucketload while we all waited around under the shelter of the Deer Creek High School front porch. Shana and I were the last to arrive and by the time we got there the rain had soaked our bike seats. Note to self: add a towel or two to the traveling equipment. Fortunately we were rewarded for our patience with an amazingly pleasant ride in the rain-cooled evening. Blake rode on the come-along and it looks like that option is going to work pretty well.

Afterwards it was a short hop over to Nez & Helen's place for a delicious meal and a great visit with everyone. I got a surprise additional birthday gift prominently featuring a gift certificate to Pro Bike - and I know just the item I am lusting after. Shana has a top tube bag the is just the handiest thing ever. It's easy to reach and I'm thinking it will be the prefect place for a camera. It would be so nice to take one along on rides from time to time, especially for events like the Hotter N Hell. I'm definitely going to get one of those for myself, and maybe some new bike socks and stock up on riding snacks. I was mighty disappointed that Pro Bike was not open today! Also present was a brand new in-the-box ice tea maker. I may have lost the battle to keep from replacing Shana's until it actually dies. She's had hers for at least 12 years and while it is still working reliably it is just about the ugliest thing going. Rather than being trimmed in the cool retro turquoise of the new unit, hers is this horrble reddish brown color. Not appetizing.

Shana and I went out to Jim's for breakfast this morning. It was cloudy and we felt comfortable taking Roxy with us because we were sure that it would not get too hot in the car for her. Well, when you are having showers off and on at all hours of the day and night it is not a very good idea to leave your sunroof open a crack to insure the dog's comfort. There was a sudden downpour and we had nice wet seats and water all over the inside of the car. I had a couple of errands to run on the way home and went about my business with a very wet skirt.

Sock knitting continues. One purple Monkey sock is complete, and I have started on the cuff of the second. I am nearly halfway down the foot of the Wildfoote Rhapsody sock and it's looking good. That one should be finished by mid week. As a bonus celebration Friday I cruised on over to the Gourmet Yarn Company to do a teeny bit of shopping. I picked up a couple of skeins of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn (so pretty) and a new book: Marcia Lewandowski's Folk Mittens. I don't know if I will actually make anything from this book, but the mittens are just deliciously inspiring and there is quite a bit of good information on the techniques involved in this sort of project. I started on Trellis for Vivian, but I don't quite understand one line of the instructions, so I think I'll be ripping back the first couple of inches on the back and starting over. No hurry, in any event as i am making the 12 month size for next spring.


This evening it's to be a Father's Day dinner for John, with Rita and the Humps joining us. Shana is tempting the rain gods by grilling some flank steak, and we'll have a good salad and some roasted potatoes. Then we'll undo all of the good healthiness of the meal by finishing up with a caramel apple upsidedown cake and ice cream. It's really called Apple Cake Tatin featured on The Barefoot Contessa this morning, but I think it will taste like caramel apples.