it's been awhile...

Our friend, Eric, took us on a nice bike ride yesterday.  It was a perfectly clear day for a ride with long distance views.  Which we had lots of, but none of the pics I took did it any justice.  What you don't see in this picture is Mat changing his 3rd flat in 2 days.  He's back behind me.  Eric went off this jump while I tried to capture it.  (Mat had two flats on his ride the day before with Eric, so he's now a pro at fixing a flat.)

We've been enjoying some wintery weather out here to get us acclimated to our trip out to Utah!  It's been chilly w/ a tad bit of snow...just enough to cancel work Friday morning until noon.

Mountain biking on google earth

Thanks to mapmyride.com and google earth we could check out the ride we did.

The leaves are turning right now, so it's a bit more colorful!  As you can see in the below pictures.

Mat is riding the log...he has a much better sense of balance than I!  It was a fun day with beautiful weather and mellow riding, except for the last half hour of downhill.

winter wonderland

On Tuesday, we went for a lovely walk up along the Blue Ridge Parkway where we thought we might encounter some snow.  We did.   It was a beautiful day romping around in it and Maddy had a blast running everywhere and rolling around in it.

Fall Mountain Bike Ride

We went on a beautiful ride out in Bent Creek.  It is amazing that the fall colors are still going on and it is still so vibrant!  This is the nice mellow road ride to the beginning of the trail.

Mat at the start of the trail...about the only time I can get to the front of him in order to take a picture!  We had a great ride even though the temperature high was only 42 degrees.  At the end of the ride, Maddy still cooled herself off by sitting in every creek and pond she came across!

newest addition to our household...

We found this in Craigslist...Mat and his sister, Sara, were the lucky people who went to pick it up.

The picture is a little blurry...but it is a fine piano for $35!!!  We had a piano tuner come out who had been doing it for 40 years.  I was at work, but Mat said that Mr. Lindsay was extremely knowledgeable and really took some time to repair the felt underneath the keys and then to tune the piano.  It's been great to get to play again!

Fall is here...

It has been beautiful the past couple of weekends, but I'd say this past weekend has been the best so far. Mat and I have been trying to take advantage of this beautiful fall weather and do a bit of hiking and biking.

Barack to the future...

On Friday we found out that Barack Obama would actually be holding a rally in Asheville, NC just a few miles from our house. This morning, we woke up and went down at 8 a.m. in the morning to stand in line. We thought we would be one of a few there that early as they had been recommending people arrive at 10 a.m. We are so glad we got there when we did.

It paid off. Look how close we are to see him speak. He talked a lot about the health care system and what he plans for the future. He wants people to be able to continue on their current plans and give them lower premiums. And for those like us that do not have insurance to give us affordable options. Yay! And yes, he will have to pay for it somehow. He's going to do this by taxing those who make over $250,000 and bringing the taxation back to what Bill Clinton had (and not even as much as the Reagan era). For the rest of us making less than $250,000 our taxes will not go up.

Honestly, for me, I don't mind paying taxes if it goes to help those less fortunate than I to be able to be on the Medicaid/Medicare/WIC program so that they can be healthy and their children can be healthy. I don't mind paying taxes to pay for infrastructure and for schools, police, firemen and libraries, etc.

It was exciting to be with the over 28,000 people who were from all walks of life. We were impressed at how everybody we talked to and heard in the crowd were supporting Barack Obama for his stance on issues that were important to them.

I was a little disappointed in Thursday's debate to find that the Obama/Biden ticket is supporting just separate but equal rights for same sex couples. Why not give them equal rights?

My largest concern this election year, is that McCain has picked Palin who is willing and eager (i.e. drill, baby, drill) to give up the beauty of Alaska just for oil. Oil that won't be available to us for 10 years and that it would last at the most 30 years, many think less. Why can't we spend all that money that we would be spending on the extraction of oil (that is non-renewable) on renewable energy sources that would last indefinitely? And would also bring about jobs. Of course, I'm biased. I worked in a very beautiful national park that wouldn't have been there if there hadn't been someone who had the forethought to preserve and protect the area.

It was phenomenal to be within 30 feet of a man who is well-spoken and intelligent and listens to the people. We are excited for this election year and the opportunity for people to choose someone who is willing to use diplomacy first instead of just going to war.

greenies lick their wounds...

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day.  Mat and I headed out for a bike ride and as we started the climb it was nice and cool with a lovely mist.  We kept on climbing for about an hour or so (those w/ stronger thigh muscles have been known to do it in about 30 minutes) and we got to the trailhead for Greens Lick.  It had the most signs ever at the trailhead warning people about the difficulty of the trail.

As we started going down I felt like it was awesome!  Out in this area, the trails are so smooth and this did not disappoint.  It was so smooth and it had woop-di-dos and berms and it was really easy to get alot of speed.  I was enjoying myself so much that I went over some woop-di-dos and was getting a wee bit of air and kind of liking it.  So I let myself get more on each one and then realized I had ALOT of air and braked and landed.  I think I tried to ride it out because I recall thinking "oh, it's gonna be okay, just straighten your tire" and wobbling and then going over the handlebars and rolling.  After sitting still a moment and realizing nothing was broken, I got up and looked down and saw I was bleeding.  I'm a wimp so really I just wanted to sit down and cry, but that wouldn't help me.  So, I got my shaky self on the bike and rode down to where Mat was riding.  He asked if everything was okay since I was smiling brightly with tears in my eyes.  So I told him about my crash which amazingly enough didn't crush the sunglasses in my pocket!

I regrouped for a minute and then we finished the trail. Which was awesome.  We got out and it seemed like such a short ride that we decided to ride back up to 5 points, which we had passed by earlier on the way to the Greens Lick trailhead.  We rode our bikes back up for another 45 minutes or an hour and then rode down another sweet trail.  It is so smooth out there.  I love it.  Maddy was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.  She was getting to the point where she was even letting me go in front of her!  Mat had a good time, too!

Debate One Down

Friday was Mat's last day of work.  So we went over and made pizza and watched the debate w/ Mat's boss, Chris and co-worker, Sara and their spouses.  The pizza was delicious and I was glad to watch the debate.  I was glad to see that Senator McCain was willing to come participate in the debate after the uncertainty of whether he would actually come or not.  It was great to hear both speak and answer the questions put forth to them.  I came away feeling that either one would definitely be an improvement on the speaking capabilities of the current president.  I didn't come away feeling that Senator McCain should be the president.  He repeatedly ignored the moderator, Jim Lehrer's request that they speak to each other or even look at each other.  I find that disconcerting.  Maybe he did that on purpose, to show that he doesn't respect Senator Obama.  Personally, I find that to be an unfavorable quality in a person.  Everyday as president, there's a good possibility that you are going to run into people who don't agree with you or your policies, but you still need to be able to show each other respect.

Senator McCain also didn't endear us when he lambasted the grizzly bear project up in Montana...obviously, we don't feel the same as he does about wildlife research.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the debates go.  I can't wait to actually get to see Governor Palin interact during a debate, since at this point we have only gotten the opportunity to hear her give speeches and 2 interviews.  No coming up with answers on the fly.  Next Thursday I'll be watching Debate # 2.

gas shortage cramping my style...

We are still experiencing a gas shortage out here in the southeast.  Hopefully, it will be over soon.  Mat and I had been talking about going on a backpack this upcoming weekend.  But right now, it's not looking too good.  The weekend might look a little more like us sitting in lines trying to get gas and having the gas station run out before we make it to the pump. At the moment, I think I have enough gas to make it to work for the next couple of days.  I guess I should have been hitting up the pumps EVERY time I saw a line, so that I could do my part to top off my tank.

Gas shortage in the south

We drove around for about 45 minutes the other night looking for gas to fill up our car.  We gave up and I called around in the morning to find a gas station that had gas.  The Asheville area, along with alot of other southern towns, have been experiencing a shortage for close to two weeks now!

http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880923070

To be present...

I have really gotten into my yoga class.  I go for an hour and half each week and I love that for the full class all I do is think in the present moment.  Each time I get out of class, I resolve that I will live each moment in the present. That lasts for about 5 minutes until I get on the freeway back home and I start thinking about what I need to do either that evening or the next morning.  And then I forget about it until I'm back in yoga class.  I find that I enjoy challenging myself by doing the poses and really thinking about each minute muscle and action that goes into the pose.  When I do yoga on my own, I find that I don't push myself as much as I do in class.  Partly because I am afraid that if I do it wrong I will hurt myself and in class my teacher will let me know when I am doing a pose wrong!  It has been a full day and I'm still thinking about how I enjoyed being present in the class but now I'm thinking of the past. So, I will try to put myself in the present again.

Trip to Seattle

We flew to Seattle, Washington to go to our friend's Matt and Malia's wedding on the eastern side of the Cascades. They were married in a very beautiful spot.  It made us miss big mountains.  :)  Here they are getting married with their dog, Luna, in the front.

Mat was able to catch up with friend's that he has not seen in about 6 years...from one of his first wildlife jobs out in the Sierra Nevadas in California.

On the way over the mountains, we stopped and took a walk through the woods. It was great to get out to stretch our legs and enjoy the beauty!

After we ate some fish and chips, we walked around the port of Everett where we saw some seals swimming around. We watched them for 15 or so minutes.

Badlands National Park

Click below to find out about the park...a little different than western North Carolina!

http://www.nps.gov/badl/

floating the toe

Last weekend, we floated the Toe River.  It was a blast.  We hiked up the railroad tracks for a bit and got all hot, then floated down the river.  It was a much quicker float than last year because of the rain we got the week before.  Many, many thanks to Chris, Mat's boss, and his family and most especially their aunt whose place we got to hang out and eat a bunch of food at!

Are elections always so exciting?

I don't know why I am finding the election so exciting this time around.  Does this really prove that I am getting middle-aged-ish?

I find it fabulous at the selection we have to choose from.  Are people so excited this time around because we've had reality television for so many years which people love and now we can find out so much about these 4 individuals in a race towards the White House?

I am excited to see a woman on the ticket, it is crazy to me that it has been 24 years since there's been a woman on the ticket!  I don't have a television to watch, but I do find myself checking cnn and the ny times frequently.  I don't check our local paper, as they didn't even have any bit of info on the front page about Obama's speech.  I thought newspapers were suppose to support the news.  Anyway, I am trying to find out about this sarah palin...who is she?  Other than a mom and governor of Alaska for 2 years?  Definitely a stark contrast to Senator McCain (experience-wise, anyway).   At least from what I've read so far.  Although, I imagine they have the same views on issues.  Is McCain really going to get the Hillary voters?

I am definitely finding it to be an interesting year.  Are you as interested in the elections this year, or am I abnormal?

Getting rid of our dead oak tree

Mat's boss, Chris, came over to help Mat cut down our tree that died a slow, sure death this summer.  It was kind of tricky to cut down as there are power lines on two side, a tree we just planted that we wanted to keep, our house and our garden.   So Chris cut off the limbs on all sides except for a few on a key side so that the tree wouldn't roll down into the garden.

Look how big the chainsaw is!!

Why doesn't the tree want to fall down????  It's cut all the way through.

Putting wedges in to make it fall over.

Mat hammering away at the wedges, you can see it is starting to fall over.  Yay!

And now we have a tree that we are splitting up in our yard.

wordle

dairy free for 2 weeks and 4 days...

So, I decided to eliminate dairy from my diet to see if that was aiding and abetting my many allergy attacks.  That includes milk, all types of cheese, cream cheese, pudding, etc.  It hasn't been fun...soy milk is okay but not getting to put cream cheese on a bagel is true torture.  Along w/ not getting any cheese on my burrito wraps and not getting to put parmesan on my pasta.  I avoid pizza as it is mostly just cheese.  I could go on and on.  But the main thing I've noticed is I'm just missing the wonderful taste of cheese.  My head is still congested and my throat is still very sore in the morning.  AND last night, I had another allergy attack that lasted about an hour even after taking meds.  So, now my dilemma is do I continue w/ my dairy free diet that I don't enjoy and see if I just haven't given it enough time to go through my system or do I just decide that it is something in the air or in our house and give up figuring out what it is?  (Although, it had been raining all day...if it had happened a few days ago when it was all blustery and windy, that might have been the case.)  Or should I be dairy and soy free?  Since lots of the nieces and nephews are also allergic to soy and I think I was as a child???

blueberry picking

We went blueberry picking this weekend.  Hard to believe, but it was still a bit early.  There was enough to pick to fill 2 nalgene bottles full, but there are more to be picked that will be ready in a couple weeks.  Maddy was eating the blueberries straight off the bush!

We also cut down our dead tree this weekend.  I will have to load the pictures up once Mat gets home from work, so you can check it out.

Fall is in the air

Since we have been back, I've been noticing it's cool in the mornings and the evenings and it is beginning to feel like fall.  Not that it hasn't been hot during the day, but the nice cool mornings and evenings make it actually pleasant.  It seems kind of early for fall.  I do love the cool weather, but I am all ready missing the long evenings.  Which does not fare too well for me, since the shortening of days has just begun!!!

Today is my first day of working on Fridays...

surprise, surprise, I am voting for Obama

I doubt anyone is surprised, really.

Last night while talking with my mom on the phone, we veered off into subjects I don't normally like to discuss with my family because I generally have a different view than some of them.  I don't like confrontations, some might say I am passive.  Somehow, we were talking about the election.  And because I tend to back down or agree (I am sure I could do a few therapy sessions to figure out why I do that!) when people have strong feelings about something, such as the presidential candidate, I just said that well, neither candidates are the greatest choices.  (Or something to that effect.) I don't really believe that...I lied. Mom, sorry for not telling you the truth.  I do think that Obama is the best choice.  I am ready for someone fresh in the office.  I want Obama to win.

Eight years ago, I think I voted for the first time for the president.  I voted for the green party because I wanted there to be a third choice in elections.  I wanted to support that avenue.  Well, I didn't realize that Bush would actually win way back then.  I am in no way a strong political activist or an avid follower of politics. So, I do not know all the ins and outs of what Obama or McCain stand for or don't stand for.  All I know is that in 2008, I am ready for some different options on how we get our energy and how we handle our foreign politics. America is beautiful and I want to keep it that way!

Okay, now that I've admitted and apologized for lying, I will go back to avoiding such discussion so I don't end up having to apologize again!

flying home...

On Sunday, we woke up and drove to Green Bay, WI from Marquette.  It is about a 4 hour trip.  It was a beautiful drive and we arrived at the airport w/ plenty of time to check in.  So we do and check our luggage.  The attendant gave us our boarding pass and told us to go to the gate attendant to get our tickets.  So, we went up there and she told they were for the next leg of our flight and we'd get it later.

We sat down and were waiting for the flight to be called.  BUT, I was worried because we didn't have a seat assignment on the boarding pass.  So, I went to the attendant again and asked her about it and she said that they would figure it out later and let us know.  Okay.

So, about 15 minutes later they called us to the desk, Mat went up w/ our tickets and they slapped his tickets on the counter after banging away on the computer for a bit.  Mat asked if he could also get my tickets and they said yes, started banging away, were having trouble, there was another lady in line, so they helped her (not very nicely).  Then the girl looked back up at Mat blankly and said "What do you want?" (not very nicely).  Mat said "I'm waiting on the tickets you were getting for my wife."

I don't think we've ever had anyone be so blatantly mean to customers as we witnessed there!  And it's not because Wisconsiners are rude people, everyone we met at gas stations and at restaurants were beyond friendly.

And then the rest of our trip was uneventful and we were excited at the end of the day to be home w/ our dog.

Wedding weekend in the U.P. = A blast!

All I can say is that the weekend was awesome.  The bride and groom were lovely, the wedding spot was awesome, the cliff jumping looked scary (Mat jumped, not I), and the every one of the guests were delightful!  The reception was fun, great food and an awesome bluegrass band.  On Saturday, we went on a nice hike and checked out the view from on top of Hogback Mtn.  We'll post pics when we have some time.

Frolfing

I know that isn't a word.  But since people put names together when they are a couple...i.e. Brangelina, I figured I could make Frisbee Golfing one word.  It rolls off the tongue so smoothly and makes you smile when you say it.  Because frolfing is fun.  You get to huck a frisbee in the woods with the goal of making it into the basket.  Mat plays par or better, I play double par okay.

This frolf course if a tight one...they are all tree shots.  When you look closely at the trees you can tell there are others like me playing!  It is a pretty popular place, so I am patiently awaiting our turn.

But it is definitely a great activity to do after work as it is only about 10 minutes away from us!

The best summer drink around...

This is the soda for a hot summer day!  Seriously.  It is a little less sweet than rootbeer and delicious.  Mat and I have been on a long kick of drinking these, ever since our friends introduced us to them.  (You also get some funny looks when you are at a stoplight and you take a swig.)  We are also huge fruit smoothie fans this summer...thanks to Mat's grandma for giving us a blender as a wedding present!

Operation Bear Transport

This is operation bear transport.  Mat is climbing the tree in order to place the bear on a higher branch, so that his parents will be able to see it while sitting up on their porch.  This was part of our evening entertainment at the July birthday celebration for Ron and Karen.  There was also a lot of really delicious food.

Mat's putting to use his skills he has learned at work.  After Mat was done, Chris allowed the little kids to swing on the rope with him.  They LOVED it.

Hanging out in Durham

This past weekend, Mat and I went down to Durham, NC to go visit J-P. It is so nice that J-P decided to go to a MBA program that is conveniently based out of Duke University. We enjoyed catching up with J-P and investigating the campus. It was beautiful. I found it to feel very medieval with all the towers and turrets on the buildings! We went into this cathedral, even though there were signs up saying not to go in and then we were promptly kicked out. So we didn't get any really good photos of the beautiful stain glass windows.

We also walked around and checked out the Duke Gardens. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

They had designed a beautiful pond with lily pads.

It was great to see J-P and explore a little bit of one of the cities in our state that we hadn't ever really spent any time in!

exciting times at Laurel Creek

Yesterday we rode our bikes along the Laurel Creek to the French Broad river near Hot Springs, NC. It was a beautiful day. The trail is in the shade, so it is a nice place to be on a hot summer day AND there are loads of swimming holes. This is the second time this summer we've gone there. Biking down the trail made it to be a very quick trip! We checked out the remains of an old town, Runion, and then on our way back we stopped at a couple spots to take a swim. At our last spot we swam in, we jumped in and played around and noticed that some people were looking at something on the opposite side of the river.

One family, mentioned as they were walking by, that there was a big copperhead snake over there. They just wanted to let us know so that Maddy wouldn't go mess with it. So, of course, we had to check out this snake. We swam across the river and looked at it sleeping down below the trail. It was pretty big. Then we decided to head on our way. So we went to gather our stuff to leave - and as I picked up my baseball hat I saw another copperhead just curled up about 2-4 inches from where my hat had been. My heart was racing and I backed up and said to Mat "umm, come check this out."

Maddy's new friend?

While out in the garden Friday morning, I noticed that Maddy was spending a lot of time underneath the power line looking up to it at a mockingbird and barking. And the mockingbird would be talking back looking down at Maddy. She'd fly to the tree, then back up to the power line, then down to the ground and the whole time making noises at Maddy. I thought how weird, are they trying to play with each other?

Saturday morning, Mat was looking out the door from the back porch and asked me to come check something out. By the time I got there, nothing was going on the bird was up on the power line and Maddy was below. Mat said the mockingbird dive bombed Maddy and pecked at her butt! I didn't believe Mat because why would a bird do that? Don't they know that Maddy is part labrador retriever...the retriever part meaning they were bred to retrieve birds?

This morning, Maddy and I are walking back to the garden to water it and out of nowhere the bird came down and pecked Maddy! And the mockingbird did it again about a half hour later! I guess this bird feels really comfortable with all of us and doesn't feel threatened. We looked up mockingbirds in The Sibley Guide to Birds and it says they are "conspicuous and aggressive." We'd have to agree on that one!

Madera

I love our dog. She's amazing, beautiful, has tons of energy and is ready to go on an adventure in a moment's notice. She enjoys hanging out in our yard and watching the world go by.

But, there is something that we haven't been able to get her to stop doing...barking. She loves to respond back to other dogs in the neighborhood when they are barking. She likes to bark at the cows across the field, especially the small ones that look like her. She lets us know when someone is walking, biking, or running by. But she just stares at the garbage truck and doesn't make a sound. We have a neighbor who goes on walks multiple times a day. If Maddy is out there she will bark at her every time. Our neighbor is really nice and talks to Maddy the whole time she is walking by, saying how sweet Maddy is and how beautiful. Cyclists going by either ignore her or when they realize that she's not going after them, they comment on how cute she is. The mailman loves her and leaves bones in the mailbox for her and always calls her "sweetheart".

Yesterday, the man running by didn't feel that same feeling for Maddy. It must have been his first time running by our house. He came running up on the road close to our house and Maddy sounded the alarm. She'd been resting on the porch behind the rocking chairs, but as soon as she saw him, she scrambled up to be at attention at the edge of her fence. All the while barking. I had come to the front door to see what she was barking at again. The guy ran as fast as he could to the other side of the road and picked up the pace to get beyond our house. I felt terrible. So much so, that I yelled after him, "it's okay, she's in an electric fence." I don't think he cared, he was still working off the adrenaline from having a dog start barking at him out of the blue.

Times like that, I seriously consider getting one of those collars that when your dog misbehaves, you press a button on your handheld device it lets out a beep and if it still isn't paying attention you can shock the dog. It's along the same lines as the electric fence, but you actually cause it to happen to your dog when they misbehave. It seems so cruel...and I don't know if I could do that to Maddy. We've tried telling her "Quiet" and spraying her w/ a water bottle, making her come inside, trying to distract her...but once she's focused on something she doesn't pay any attention to us. If she keeps scaring random people like the runner, we might have to do it though, because yesterday I felt like Maddy was incredibly unfeeling towards the runner. He looked so terrified! And I felt like I was being party to cruelty of a stranger.

Happiness...

Our garden is happy again...it's rained the past three days. Yay! It surely enjoys getting a couple hour rainfall every afternoon much more than us having to go out and water it w/ our watering pail!

A couple of bell peppers...next year I think I will plant where they get a little more sun.

I can't wait for the tomatoes to be ripe!

It's still a little while until the basil is going to provide us with herbs!

Our eggplant is battling the flea beetle much better than last year. This plant is huge for this time of the year. Last year, we thought they had died, but didn't pull them out and they came back in late August.

Our garden is full of rocks, as you can tell from this picture and other pictures I've posted. But it also has an amazing amount of pottery shards and glass. I sometimes wonder if our garden is what once was the previous owners' landfill.

We are slowly turning the front area into a native flower garden. I LOVE the echinacea and black-eyed susans. They seem so perky and happy!

Happy 4th of July weekend...

Early on in the week I was trying to figure out what people were doing for the 4th. Not much. As far as I could find out there wasn't a parade just fireworks later on in the night after the A'ville Tourists baseball game. So I decided we should barbecue, so we had Mat's parents, Ron and Naomi and Sara and Mark and some friends over. We played some croquet and ate lots of good food. Maddy loved all the new people she got to meet and say hello to. By saying hello, I mean, overwhelming them with her eagerness to lick their face.

We played frisbee with Maddy before everyone showed up thinking it might wear her out a bit. I don't really think it did. She did get worn out playing w/ the dogs who came over though. We were able to see some fireworks from our front yard and then we went downtown and saw the Asheville fireworks. It was a nice evening.

On Saturday night, we went to Shindig on the Green. We LOVE going there. This time we didn't get rained on!

We enjoyed listening to great people play...

and people coming up to pet Maddy! Maddy was very well behaved. We find it is good practice for us and her to meet strangers and small kids to pet her.

We also enjoyed the end of the evening, when Bill asked if he could race the cop on the segway. Almost like COPS, the tv show, except for the fact the two had huge smiles on their faces!

Fore more pics of the evening, check out flickr.