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What I love about this post now are all the details leading up to meeting Jon Walker who I traveled with for a little over a month to Del Rio, TX. If I wrote up this bike trip in a book, I probably would throw in a foreshadowing line like: Little did she know how handy that 100 pounds of gear would prove to be. Originally Posted January 31, 2007
San Diego
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Originally Posted January 30, 2007
The TrainWhen I woke, there was a palm tree. The sun had risen and breakfast was no longer being served. I pull out my ziplock of almonds and begin splitting them apart with my teeth revealing their smooth inner flanks. The train is stopped again as we wait our turn to get past the work gang. The snowy countryside of Oregon is now long gone. The bilingual boy of two years and six months is telling his mother incessently that his teddy bear nees to go to sleep. This is shortly after he dumped his dixie cup of water on the floor. I wake again. The rolling hills echo one another. Through the mist the cattle graze over the sparsly green grass at dusk. As we snake along slicing through nature, the hills give birth to lights and a city. The shuffly heterosexual male walks by commenting on my state of consciousness. And then on my journaling with scarlett ink..."hott stuff"...I don't have a red pen. And then have I read The Scarlett Letter. And then a joke about Hester Prynne's actions because everyone needs a hobby. Again, the shuffling by... his finger touched his lips and he leaned in as I kept my water bottle firmly in my face. "There once was a song...the sound of silence" Squakity-squak-wak-6:45 dinner reservations-squakity-squak-wak. "God-damn" Earlier he pegged me and Jew as a non-Christian because we didn't get a vague hymn reference regarding a cross-eyed doll. I'd consider moving if I thought it would help me avoid him. What are you doing tomorrow? I am not getting on a train or doing anything earth shattering. We'll probably reconcile our bank account or paint some trim we replaced a couple months ago. Do I wish I were getting on a train to go on a bike tour? I'm not sure. I've been having fun lately reflecting on some mundane daily events through little poems. A couple nights ago Karl even helped me write one and you can hear him reading it here:  Originally Posted January 28, 2007
My next post will be from California. I get on the train tomorrow. I'm almost packed. YouTube has really evolved in the last 15 years. I never really used that much on my bike tour 15 years ago. I've got a new YouTube channel now. There still isn't too much on it; just a few reviews. My most popular one so far is my review of the StablO Portable Easel with 1,700 views! Originally Posted January 25, 2007
I signed up for a YouTube account. Here is a short clip I took on the Yukon canoeing expedition.
"Time has escaped me without much definition between the days." I love this quote from 15 years ago! Early pandemic I heard this exact sentiment so many times from so many of our customers. People were home alone doing the exact same thing everyday or doing nothing at all. For me early pandemic meant working from home (like always), but homeschooling and lots of other random stressors thrown in there. I didn't have any trouble remembering which day of the week it was. I loved that my social calendar was wiped clean! I had more time to do a lot of things I really wanted to do (like go for a walk everyday). I am sure that I didn't properly appreciate 15 years ago this feeling of having time. Time to exercise. Time to rest. Time to let thoughts wander. Oh and quiet! My life was so much quieter then. I miss the quiet. Of course in another 15 years I bet I will even miss the noise of little children arguing. Yesterday I stole a few moments and popped out to the now updated Waterman Pier. Originally Posted January 24, 2007
Tomorrow it gets boxed.
 I recently picked up this tiny little sketchbook just 3.5 x 5.5". I can really keep it in my purse and sketch something fast. I added the watercolor later when I was back at my desk. My kids were very excited to be in the sketch and even held still a bit for me. We've been huge fans of Manchester State Park lately listening to the California Sea Lions and watching all the water fowl. I even spotted some Surf Scoters. Originally Posted January 22, 2007
Manchester State Park
This didn't make it from my journal to my blog 15 years ago. I can't imagine why... I think I was house sitting and Nadia is a cat. I really can't imagine how you would even make a Juicy Fruit flavored soup. Any ideas? I lost Nadia. The water heater is broken. I ate juicy fruit flavored soup. My ride was short. Previously Posted January 19, 2007
Dist. 3.3 - Time 0:16:42 Here's a fun previously unpublished excerpt from my journal 15 years ago: I'm going to go for a ride today. I really need to. I've probably undone all of the training I did over a week ago. I can't wait to go. It will be good for me. Good like a pumice stone is for my feet. It might be harsh and it might wear me down, but it leaves me with a healthier cleaner me. Turns out 15 years ago the first draft my blog was in a hardcover At-A-Glance A5 daily diary style journal. Turns out there is a bunch I didn't tell you. There was a lot of self doubt. I doubted I would be able to make the trip across the country on a bicycle. My back might give out. I might run out of money. I was afraid of explaining the failure to everyone. Here is one little nugget that I should have shared: I spoke with a friend.  Originally Posted January 11, 2007
15 years later and the link still works! You can still get the fabulous shirt I took on my bike trip from the same guy. Sadly, I don't think I still have my original shirt. I don't think I would have gotten rid of it, but I am also pretty good at not holding on to things I don't need or fit into anymore. Also, just this last Friday I launched my very own t-shirt shop using Threadless Artists Shops. To kick things off there is a great sale my first week: $15 Regular Tees + 10% off Everything Else 1/7 10:00am - 1/14 5:00pm CT
Originally Posted January 07, 2007
I ate beef jerky on the beach. This should be a short post. I think I might be getting sick. My throat is starting to act up. I should be asleep right now. I rode to church this morning. The blowy rainy goodness hasn't quite let up for any significant amount of time lately...except maybe at night. Epiphany started. The interim pastor makes these little banners every Sunday out of felt. Apparently he has been doing this forever. Today's banner had a large star over what I can only assume to be Jerusalem. Then he splattered on about planets aligning and the wise men not being related to Christmas at all. Conspiracy tales I say. He went on defend his version of history throughout the service. He should have been a history teacher. Then he deemed me worthy of this week's banner. There was maybe one other in the group of eleven that hadn't already received the weekly banner. I should have posted a picture of it but I already brought it inside. Maybe I’ll sneakily leave it in the living room. Course when my Mom reads this post she will put a stop to it. After church I rode to Lori's. We chatted and viewed where her ceiling fell in. Luckily, it isn't really her ceiling. Upon leaving her house on Nelson Rd., I decided it would be best to walk my bike down the extremely steep hill to the end of the road where it tees with Olalla Valley. Just beyond: the cliff of death and water. I ate beef jerky on the beach. Dist. 13.4 - Time 1:27:23 - Avg. 9.2 - Max. 33.5
Spoiler alert! My brother is just in China. However, with various COVID restrictions we haven't gotten to see him since early 2020. Hats off to his girlfriend who seems to bring so much joy to his life. Plus that kitten of theirs is so cute! I always like to find ways to connect with him so far away and I do need more practice sketching people. My apologies go out to them, but at least my poor likenesses will protect their privacy. Originally Posted January 05, 2007
whole new meaning to "getting in my pants"
It is the second day of the New Year! I've never really done New Year's resolutions, but this is a time of the year I feel energized (refer to my "Winter Project" post). The busy holiday season has died down and I suddenly find time my hands to think about what I really want to be doing with my life... and I have a little time to do something about it. Last year I launched this website. This year on Tuesday, January 7th, I'm launching my Threadless Artists Shop. I've been a big fan of Threadless for years and I'm excited about selling t-shirts with them. I started screen printing as a hobby last year, but I have no desire to print and sell the shirts myself on any sort of scale. I enjoy designing the shirts so much more and Threadless will take care of the rest. Couple thoughts on 15 years ago... I haven't seen the Keanus in ages. I wonder if they still have a Texas themed bathroom. Also, I still have those rain pants with a gash. The patch has held up surprisingly well. Originally Posted January 02, 2007
Day TwoI made my second jaunt out on Madeline in South Kitsap. However, the weather was not quite as favorable today. Initially, I tried to get my sister's bike trainer mechanism to work with my bike. I had little success and finally opted for the weather just as the bus rolled to a stop to deposit my brother at home. Clad in my rain gear and determination, I set out. Past Black Road and past Mullinex Road, I found myself on Banner. Banner is nice. It is straight and relitively flat. It was a nice break. I hopped over Sedgewick and rolled into the Keanu's driveway.
This being the second day on clipless pedals (they clip into the bottom of my shoes, but don't have toe clips) I fall. I just didn't get my feet out in time. But I don't hurt, and so I lean my bike against the white electric garage door and trudge up to the doorbell. Eventually Maile comes to the door. Man is she taller then I remembered her. People grow. I was unsure I was invited in, but then she called for Kaleo, who looked about the same as a couple years ago...maybe even smaller. As we stand around the dark entryway, Alan, the father, comes out from the living room and tells us all to come in and sit down. Also under Alan's instruction, Kaleo gets me a cup of water. We exchange the customary what are you doing with your life?'s, couldn't get a job?'s and are you crazy?s. At some point in time I look at my finger and see blood, but no laceration. I look down at my right knee and there's a five inch gash in my rain pants. Damn. It looked much worse till I cleaned off all the blood to reveal two tiny bloody dots on my knee. WFR taught me to clean a wound before dressing it. These didn't even deserve band-aids. My knee will heal faster than the pants. I didn't go in their Texas bathroom. At least I think it is still a Texas bathroom. Many things can change in a few years. Oh and I fell again in there somewhere. 48 degrees - Avg. 11.1 - Max. 34.3 - Dist. 12.2 - Time 1:05:33 
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