Peace Lilly

My Mother's Peace Lilly is blooming and I wanted to share. It's so beautiful... and appropriate for today, I think.

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg VA

Today we headed over to Busch Gardens. I've been here before, but it's been years since then. None of the guys have ever been here.

I thought this was pretty fitting:

We had a lot of fun together! It was a great day!

I Love Clouds

Out of all the things there are to love about living in Florida, from the time we first moved here at the top of my list right under: Ocean/Beaches and then: Warm Weather are: The Clouds.



I don't know what it is about the clouds that capture my heart so much but they just do.



We will be driving along, looking at many beautiful things and I will say over and over again, look at the clouds. Aren't they incredible? The look like cotton candy fluffs that you could just reach up and grab. Like I'm five years old or something.



Then I get home and I am editing pictures and again, all I can see is clouds. And I fall in love again.



If I had a theme song, it would not be Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It would be something along the lines of Somewhere In the Clouds. Because it just seems to me that is a peaceful place to be.



I guess it is the same reason we lie on our backs as children and try to figure out what objects they most resemble. It is somehow where heaven and earth meet each other in our minds. Whatever the reason, they are lovely to look at and I'm grateful we have them here almost every single day.



Living the life in sunny Florida!

Yellow Yucca

this is a yellow yucca simular to the red yucca shown below

Nick and Tonyia Visit The Villages

Nick and Tonyia came to visit Rich and Donna this weekend. We made plans to get together at our place Friday night, but ended up moving it to Saturday. Ava had fun catching up with Rich and Donna and Nick and Tonyia. Donna brought a mix, and Nathan got to work making us some yummy frozen drinks.



We visited on the lanai for a bit, until it started to rain. Nathan also made us some very yummy fajitas. Donna brought two different kinds of chips and salsa to add to the dinner. We had plenty to eat and it was nice to have a table that we all fit around.



After dinner, we got out the Phase 10 game and played that until quite late. Only half of us had played before so we played a practice hand to teach the others and then we were off and running. We were neck and neck at the end with Nick being the final winner.



This morning we met at Golden Coral and then Nick and Tonyia had to head back out. It was a great weekend that went by much too fast!

End of the Year Pickleball Tournament

Last week Nathan announced to me that he was going to host a pickleball tournament. I know the other wives out there will understand me when I say what that really meant was *we* were going to do a pickleball tournament. I'm so glad he did decide to do this, because it was great fun for us.



We had a great turnout! After a week full of a huge pickleball crowd, we were a little concerned we'd have so many players that it would take all day to finish. Instead we had enough people to do both a men's and women's tournament and it lasted a decent amount of time, without being all day long.



Here are the players:



Some of the action, starting with Ken and Austin. Ken always has that great smile on his face:



Regal Faye with Kim. This week is the first I've met Kim. She is a hoot. She makes the game so much more fun!





Here is Kim with Diane. Diane is a fellow South Floridian and is so cool. And she rocks at pickleball!



I've just met Kristie since we've been here too. She was on a hot streak today!



Me, and given the direction that it appears the ball is moving, I'm guessing it was not a great hit. I still get so intimidated and feel sorry for other people that they are stuck with me as their partner. And the only reason I am sharing that is because I want to give some praise to the other women that play. They are so gracious and sooooo encouraging to me. I appreciate them so much!



Look at that concentration:





Meet Donna and Barbara, who are both awesome players. And both so incredibly sweet and encouraging.





Here is another sweetheart Sheri, and lean mean winning machine Sally. Not that Sally isn't sweet, but she plays to win! I think that's the only shot I have of Sally. The rest are probably just a blur!



Wait a minute, I do have more of Sally. And here you can see the elegant Karen on the other side:



Karen looks dainty, but she can play a mean game!



Sitting on the sidelines:





You'll have to go to Austin's blog to see the men's games because I was too busy watching the women to tell you much detail about the men.

Winners: Sallie-1st, Diane-2nd and Barbara-3rd:



Mike-1st, Austin-3rd and Dave-2nd:



Way to go winners and everyone else that played. You made it tons of fun for us. We hope you had fun too!



You can see the rest of our pictures here: Pickleball Tournament

Lady in Red: a Women's Day Give-Away

On the occasion of International Women's Day, I would like to give away 3 small items to my female readers. Yes, they are all red. Enjoy!



Pedal-Brite Flower Headlight

I received this awesomely whimsical headlight from a reader who has recently gone into business making them. Unable to find a bike light to match her cruiser, she made her own. The idea is to combine a headlight with the practice of attaching flowers to your bike. Handmade using jumbo silk daisies, the Pedal-Brite is reminiscent of the daisies adorning vintage plastic bike baskets. Battery-operated LED touch lights turns the giant flowers into functional, bright headlights. Pedal-Brites can be attached to a basket or handlebars, and everything you need for that is included. These flowers are quite large (12" in diameter) and are best suited for cruiser-type bikes. In addition to the red flower pictured, they are also available in white, yellow, orange, purple, turquoise and pink for a price of $30 on the Pedal-Brite website.





Little Package Lightweight Cycling Cap

Handmade items can be more accessible than you think. Did you know there is a woman in Oregon sewing cycling caps for as little as $15?In addition to selling ready to wear hats, Caroline also takes custom orders, and can use either her own or customer-supplied fabrics.This lightweight 3-panel cotton cap features a red and white pattern that is no longer available, but the fit and construction are similar to this model(and othersin her Etsy shop). Featuring a soft bill, this is a summer weight cap, for warmer days of which for now we can only daydream here on the East Coast, given the latest "weather event." I would say this cap runs small-ish, or at least looks best on women with small to average sized heads.





Ibex Knitty-Gritty Fingerless Gloves

Perfect for transitional weather, these wool fingerless gloves from Ibex are bright red with silver logos (also available in black on the Ibex websitefor $20). The gloves are made of lambswool with a touch of nylon for stretch.The underside features rubber grippers like so, excellentfor gripping bicycle handlebars or holding a camera.This pair is size S/M unisex - which is more like aMedium/Large when translated to women's sizing.



If you would like to enter, here are the eligibility criteria:

1. Women only, in the continental USA please

2. Provide a functional email address

3. Be sure to list which item you are interested in (see below)



And here is what to do:

Post a comment telling us what you and your bike are up to today. Anything Woman's-Dayish? I am always curious whether anyone in the US celebrates this holiday, and how. If you're doing nothing, that's fine too, this plays no role in selecting recipients. Somewhere in the comment, let me know which item(s) you are interested in (flower, cap, or gloves). It can be just one, or all three; I simply need to know which draw to include you in. Recipients will be chosen at random from eligible entries. Don't forget to include your email!



Deadline:

Saturday, March 9th, 11:55pm



Thank you for reading, Happy Women's Day, and enjoy your weekend!

Sackville Trunksack: How Fitting for a Rear Rack!

I have talked ad nauseum about my Carradice Barley bag, and so I thought it was time to review my other bag, the Sackville Trunksack. As far as I know, it is available exclusively from Rivendell, and you can read their product description here.

The Sackville Trunksack is a handsome box-shaped bag, in a dark-olive waterproof canvas with golden-brown leather trim and brass hardware. The large size is designed for the rear rack. It fits Pletscher-style racks perfectly, neither leaving portions of the rack uncovered, nor overhanging from any part of the rack. It looks great on many different types of bicycles, including the Motobecane mixte above and the Raleigh Lady's Sport on the first photo.

Here are some views of the bag. The zipper closure with two separate zippers is very convenient, as it allows you to open and close the bag from any side while remaining seated on the bicycle.

The leather flaps hide the zippers from view and prevent rain from entering.

3/4 view. The colour of the leather flap is an exact match for Brooks "honey" (pictured ont he 1st photo of the Raleigh here) and a shade lighter than the Brooks "brown" (above). The reflective strip is an extra benefit.

Rear view. The leather strap in the back is positioned perfectly for mounting a light, providing a great solution for rear lighting (if you recall, this was my only criticism of the Carradice Barley).

Close-up of the light attachment. Very secure; no wobbling or slanting even during very bumpy rides.

The complete lack of wobble is one of the biggest benefits of the Sackville Trunksack. This is achieved by the tight and precise attachment system: leather straps with snap closure.

The brass hardware is rather attractive.

Inside, the Trunksack is like a large box or chest: There are no compartments. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good in the sense that you need only to open it once, and all of your stuff is immediately accessible. And it is bad in the sense that, especially if you are messy, your things will soon become jumbled due to the lack of compartments. For me, the benefits of the ease of access outweigh the drawbacks of the lack of compartments - but this is a personal preference.

My one complaint about the Sackville Trunksack, is that it has no structural support and therefore does not retain its form unless it is full. You can see that almost all the photos show various degrees of sagging. We are trying to make a support for it either out of wire or plexiglass, but it is not yet complete. In the meantime, I try to keep it maximally filled.

To sum up what I love about the Sackville Trunksack:
. It fits my rear rack perfectly, securely and free of wobble
. The box shape and the colour scheme are aesthetically appealing
. It is very roomy
. The single zip closure provides easy access
. It is waterproof
. The rear light attachment is excellently designed

And what could use improvement, is the sagging issue.

Edited to add: As of April , I no longer own this bag - having traded it to a fellow collector for another bicycle-related item. I liked the bag, but ultimately prefer Carradice-style saddlebags.