SOTC 231/365

Bike ride, anyone?

That Time Spring Came Early (SOTC 191/365)

The river is low, desperate for water;
the branches have yet to bud,
and feet still shuffle through brown leaves
unearthed by the melted ice.

But the sunshine still feels
SO good.

SOTC 130/365

I bought

a Gorilla Pod.

So.

Much.

Fun.

SOTC 54/365

Mid Bike-Ride Snake Hunt (SOTC 54/365), a photo by gina.blank on Flickr.

285/365

Oh, perfect Saturdays. I have spoken of you many a time on my blog. You are the perfect mix of introverted self time and activity with friends. You are usually sunny and warm, and you never start before 10am.* You are wonderful, and I love it when I am blessed with you.

Today was a perfect Saturday. And I don't think I've really had a perfect Saturday in the course of this photography project. There have been a few really great Saturdays (and even a couple of lazy Saturdays), but there's a subtle qualitative difference between a great Saturday and a perfect Saturday.

...to soil!

I thought my photo for today was going to be easy. The garden went in today: green beans, yellow beans, carrots, dill, lettuce, spinach, snap peas, pumpkin, and zucchini. I've already taken pictures of the seeds and the sprouts, and now they're going into the ground. How could that not be my blog photo for today?

But then, after the garden was done, CR and JM came over and we celebrated the warm sunshine with a bike ride through the River Valley. I didn't bring my camera, but CR did. And she took some lovely photos. My first bike ride of the season! How could that not be my blog photo for today?

And THEN, just when I think I've already got a tough decision to make, I find myself in my hammock. I've been in there a few times after work this week, but always for under ten minutes--just long enough to scrape up some of the last bit of sunshine that I missed while sitting in my office all day long. Today I spent over 45 minutes in the thing, reading a good book, and watching my cat try to navigate this new piece of furniture. My first real back yard hammock experience. How could that not be my blog photo for today?

So... I'm cheating (hey, it's my project, I can do that). Today, I have three photos. In their own way, they each represent life, blessing, relationship, warmth, happiness, goodness, peace, and love.

Yes, a perfect Saturday indeed.

* Okay, just once, but it was worth it.

Summer Sunday Sun

With nothing on the agenda this weekend, I wanted to take advantage of the summer sun. Yesterday proved to be a challenge, though, as it was mostly cloudy, punctuated with mere 5-minute bursts of sunshine every now and again. Also punctuated with 5-minute bursts of rain. It was quite the odd Saturday. There was a solid half hour where Princess and I both basked in the sun (her eating grass, me reading a book), but that was it. I raised my white flag at about 4pm that afternoon, and cozied on the couch with my book instead before heading to Jennifer's to watch a movie.

Today, however, was quite sunny out all day, so knowing that the forecast predicts rain for the next three days, I decided to take advantage of what I was being given. After church, Princess and I spent about half an hour outside before even I thought it was a bit too warm to just be sitting still. So I tucked the cat inside, brought my bike outside, and went for a lazy meandering ride in my neighbourhood. I am mere blocks from Ada Boulevard, a street that lines the north side of the river valley in Edmonton. Gorgeous houses, gorgeous view (if you don't look too far east to the refineries), and a nice quiet ride. I rode clear from one end of Ada to the other, and then rested on a bench for a bit to just admire the view. This city really does have quite a bit of beauty to it.

Summer

Two days into my summer schedule, and I am loving it. Respite in the morning, and whatever I want in the afternoons. I am still a bit slow-moving after my backpacking adventure, so I'm glad my schedule has afforded me the ability to be slow-moving. Yesterday afternoon, I puttered around a bit on the computer, and then had a two-hour nap. When I awoke, I thought, "should I be productive now?" But by this time it was 6pm, so I had supper, puttered around a bit more on the computer (read: played around in Photoshop), and then forfeited productivity in exchange for cozying back on the couch with my book (I am currently reading through the Twilight series, and finished New Moon last night).

This afternoon, I had more energy, so I ran a couple errands, and then tackled some organizational things--letters to mail, papers to fill out, junk to recycle. I haven't yet gained access to the third book of the Twilight series (Eclipse), otherwise I'd be on the couch again, for sure. Yes, I know, I could start reading any other book while I wait for Eclipse to come into the library, but I wasn't proactive in that task early enough. The library closes early on Fridays. ...I will saunter down the block (okay, three blocks) to the library tomorrow and see what I can find.

I am also s'posed to hang out with JC tomorrow. I am working up the courage to ride my bike to her place. I have done it before (although not since last summer); it takes about an hour. Thing is, today was the first day since returning from BC that I've been able to sit down or crouch without my legs being on fire; the first day that I haven't moved around like an 85-year-old lady! ...I would love to start taking my bike out more regularly; I just don't want to push it.

Ah, well, I can always have a nap afterwards.

A Perfect Saturday

I can't help reflecting upon how good this day has been. Saturdays rock; and summer rocks. And today has pretty much been the best of both worlds.

It started by waking up after 9 1/2 glorious hours of sleep, followed by a brief kitty cuddle. I spent the morning just puttering around my condo--tackling a bit of laundry, removing things from my balcony (they're painting next week), and prettying my toenails on said sunny balcony.

Lunch time brought the phone call that would determine details for the afternoon's activities which I had been anticipating from the day before. The bike trails and sunshine were calling; this could not be ignored! My friend JP and I hopped on the LRT down to meet JM, and to the River Valley on our bikes we went. Sunny and 25C (77F), barely a cloud in the sky--what a glorious day for a bike ride! We headed down into the valley near Kinsmen, and up onto one of my favourite roads in Edmonton--River Valley Road. A canopy of trees lines the entire stretch of bike trail that runs parallel with the river; it is so pretty (the photo--not mine--is taken in the fall, I know, but you get the point). We continued through a couple parks areas, reveling in the smells of summer that we passed, and affirming over and over that we must go camping, we must go camping, we must go camping!

We finished our journey at Hawrelak Park, one of Edmonton's biggest parks (that's not a golf course). The place was packed with people--BBQ, frisbee, soccer, biking, jogging; it was all happening. We snacked on cherries and enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells.

I was very impressed with my overall endurance. Still, I decided to take the train home, which allowed me some reading of Twilight; I am halfway through the first book, and plan on reading the series over the course of this summer. After arriving home, I continued to read as I soaked in a refreshingly warm bubble bath, and traded my salty, sticky, gritty self for a softer, vanilla-fragranced version. Post-soak, I got into some comfortable clothes, and lazily pinned back my hair (which is finally growing out enough to get away with being laissez-faire about it!).

As I prepared pork chops and corn on the cob for supper, I noticed on Facebook that JC's evening was as open as mine--come on over, I said; I've got corn on the cob! JC also had the fantastic idea to make smoothies. Strawberries, kiwis, ice, a bit of sugar, and a touch of Smirnoff Raspberry--it was SO good; I can't describe how it added so beautifully (and tastefully) to my summer day. JC and I decided to watch Now and Then to continue basking in the feeling of summer goodness.

Now that the sun has finally set, and my condo is starting to cool off for the night, I am getting ready to stretch out and delve into some more Twilight before bed.

Yes, this day has been pretty much perfect.

A Bicycle Built for Me

It has been absolutely gorgeous out this weekend, so I've been doing a lot of biking. Today, I biked down to the south side (about an hour) to check on my friends' cats one more time before they returned home from BC. Then I biked to the University area (about 40 minutes) to have supper and join Bible study with another friend. Then of course, I had to bike home (about an hour).

On my way to friend #2, I stopped at United Cycle and picked up a holster for my bike lock. The fastening clip on my old holster had rusted off ages ago, and I had been putting my U-lock into my bike's carrying pack ever since. But I was getting tired of doing that, and the store was on the way to where I was going, so I picked one up. EZ Install, it said. Yeah, "EZ Install" my butt. Every single piece was stiff to move and put together. Like those thin lego pieces that just don't come apart. Only worse. Lift here and strap will slide through. 'Lift' actually means "reef on it". Slide piece A into piece B and fasten. 'Slide' actually means "jam it in as hard as you can." And I had absolutely no leverage, since I was fastening this thing to the frame of my bike; just a metal tube. Plus I had to make sure everything was angled properly so I can yank the lock out when needed, without getting it in the way of my water bottle, but without getting it in the way of my legs, either. The thing took an hour to attach to my bike. ...So it's on. But what a hassle.