New Year's Day ride 2009 pt. 2

Crazy, party of one.

Ah this bench. I've sat on this bench for so many thought-filled moments- when my sister learned her brain tumor had returned, when I was considering heart surgery again, when I've just needed a place to reflect. Today, it somehow didn't seem as inviting, can't quite put my finger on it...

I think this is my new favorite picture. Go prayer flags, go!!

So here's me, after my very short ride. It was 19 degrees to start and with the windchill it was below zero. I rode just out to the Piermont Pier and back, stopping along the way to hang the prayer flags and take pictures of the extraordinary day. As I was tying the flags, my fingers burned with cold and I thought, "This is what it must be like to die on Everest". And I thought of all those beautiful flags flying in the wind around Everest. I do so love all things Everest, Bear Grylls book, The Kid Who Climbed Everest" is one of my favorite books. But I digress...

Shawn and Joppa came out to say hello. Poor Daniel, got sick last night and is in no shape to ride. It was nice to see their smiling faces and get some really great hugs. In 2009 I vow to ride a ton more miles with both of them, two of my favorite people who I really just love. Thanks for coming out you guys, it meant so much to see you. We talked for a few minutes and I declared that today's ride was really going to be in ceremony, it's way too dangerous to actually ride roads- we got a bunch of snow yesterday and the black ice coupled with the massive wind gusts were just too daunting. I'm crazy, not stupid. But as such good friends, Shawn and Joppa offered to follow me in their van while I rode- that's bike friends for you- they understood my need to ride, not even one attempt to talk me out of it. I love that more than I can say. Wow, good people.

So, yeah, the ride itself was relatively uneventful, thank goodness. I rode very slowly and carefully- I didn't bother to put my bike shoes on, just my sneakers. I just took my time and tried not to get blown over. I think I did about 1.6 miles total. And that was enough.

2009, off to a good start! May we all have the wind at our backs.

New Year bike ride

I hung these prayer flags down by the end of Piermont Pier. They immediately went to work, I think I've never seen it so windy on the pier. More pics to follow when I get home. This is one crazy day for riding.

The fun house

How many pencils can fit in one pocket?!

What a great day for a project!
Someone gave Gray this house for Christmas- I instantly knew we'd love it. Automatic fort!
Today we decided it was time to put it up and decorate it, we had some extra company, my neighbor Jay and his daughter Julia and adorable Noah and Gray of course.

So this is the house "before". Julia reminds me of me here- anyone else think so?

Slowly coming along...

Here's some of the finished product. I actually wove the duct tape on the door, including a duct tape kick plate that you can't actually see.


The kids had so much fun putting their own special touches on the house. And bonus, this activity involved all of us, having fun together, for the entire afternoon. No tv, no video games, and tons of laughter. We didn't even finish half the house.

10K statue stolen from Madoff- love it

$10K statue stolen from Madoff's Florida estate

My favorite part of this story is the quote from the investigator- "no leads, not a single clue". Read: We're not bothering to look. Go take more, we won't have any clues then either.

(CNN) -- Police say a sizable statue worth more than $10,000 was stolen this month from the posh Florida estate of Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street investment adviser accused of operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The 4-foot-high statue, which portrays two lifeguards sitting on a bench, was stolen December 19 from Madoff's estate in Palm Beach, police said.

The theft happened eight days after Madoff was arrested in New York in connection with the investment fraud allegations.

"The property manager left the residence one afternoon, and when she returned, she noticed a statue that was normally kept by the pool was missing," Palm Beach police Sgt. Richard Sorge said.

Sorge said investigators have "no leads, not a single clue" in the investigation of the heist.

Sweet Pea update!

From Natalie, "...In the next few weeks, I will send you an initial design drawing of your Sweetpea so you can have a little chunk of your future joy to look at."

YEAH!! Ooooh, I can't wait.

That is all.

Cool or creepy?

UPDATE: I've decided. CREEPY.
So here's this company selling extra large contacts so you can look like a Japanese cartoon character. Wow. I'm stuck between cool or creepy. Certainly awesome for Halloween...And I can't help but wonder how they help make your eyes watery.

Anyone who's seen Japanese comics, cartoon videos or anime art is instantly struck by the common look of the girls - big eyes that, by making the rest of the face look small, add the cuteness and sex appeal prized by many Japanese men. Since no amount of cosmetic surgery will make actual human eyes larger, some girls are trying another way to up their cute quotient: extra-wide contact lenses!

These are no ordinary contacts - they're not only tinted, but tinted prominently in the extra-wide outer ring. The result is the appearance of a bigger, wider iris.

To quote the sales copy, "Wanna get big, watery shiny eyes without any surgery? CRAVE AND ENVY NO MORE!"

The extra-wide contact lenses are made by a variety of companies including Geo and Dueba, and cost in the $30-$50 per pair range. It seems they're not just cosmetic - send in your prescription and the lenses will be made to order.

Christmas Day ride

I don't know why the hill profile seems to understate the magnitude of the hills we did on this ride- it's making the ride look hill-benign which it absolutely was not. Oh well. I can tell you we weaved all over Suffern in an effort to stay warm and make our short one-hour ride time count. Who am I kidding, I would've dragged Daniel up these hills even if we had all day. They just felt so good!
It was ridiculously windy (I think 35 mph gusts) which made the otherwise mild day get bitterly cold. No matter, I was so happy to squeeze in some ride time on Christmas Day before heading off to visit family.
Very little traffic on the nice back roads we took and not too much ice/slush on the roads. My mom's driveway- a completely different story. We had to saddle up on the road. It's nice though that Daniel and I have a standing (no pun intended) agreement that should one of us fall it's expected the other will laugh first, offer help second. That's friendship for you.