Ride Home With Me

Happy Friday!

Follow along with pictures on my wonderful bike ride home on the St Vrain Greenway :)

Garden in a circle. 

Work is just to the right along that road. I ride under the overpass and cross a bridge over the stream, then take the sidewalk until I can cross the road right into the parking lot. The path doesn't empty out nicely onto the road for me.

I get to ride under a few roads, instead of having to worry about crossing them! There are gates to close off the Greenway for high water. I wonder how often that actually happens?

Wheeee!

I found a tiny soccer ball.

Now it shall be Grunt's new tiny soccer ball toy.

One of several small lakes/large ponds I get to ride by. There are lots of geese to see and occasionally dodge, but today they were having a party somewhere else I guess. I heard them, but didn't see any.

A neat pice of artwork at the edge of the lake. There are bunches of "Art in Public Places" and I aim to eventually see them all- they are numbered on my bike map :)

Little pedestals along the path have odd sculptures on them, and while biking past they resemble dog poops. Now I know they aren't!

Here is the table shown in an earlier post. There were little groundhogs or prairie dogs all over that hill, but they are really hard to spot in person- I'm not sure you can find one at all in the picture.

I finally stopped here! There are usually always people, so I haven't before. 

I sat down and the bowl amplifies the gurgling of the stream in a way that makes me wish I had my own personal Listening Stone with a cushion to curl up on and read a book.

I never realized it, but those are apple trees! I must stop and get some next time, they would make a wonderful snack.

A particularly inviting place along the stream. The Greenway follows it all the way to the pretty waterfall, where my route splits off to go home.  

Because the gravel is loosely packed? Or maybe because you won't run someone over (theoretically) on foot? These little trails look like they go down to the water, or maybe small clearings to have a picnic.

Perhaps my favorite part of the Greenway. I liked the bird immediately, but it took stopping to take pictures for me to read the placard and find out it's supposed to be a Kestrel. 

My favorite bird? No wonder I liked it!

And... here the battery pack in my new camera finally refused to turn back on (it had been flashing the battery symbol at me since the first picture!).

So, I got out my phone of course!

I get spectacular views!

That spec in the sky is a skydiver. 

There were actually six of them or so, but the others are hard to spot.

More mountain view.

The airport is nearby, so I get to watch aircraft landing often.

Under the bridge at my Greenway exit.

The final stretch home!

Happy Friday everyone! 

Have a great weekend.

Pinky

Vest: Simplicity New Look 6914 version B

Skirt: Simplicity 2655 version E with added pockets (not ironed, sorry)

Well, I finally got over being mad at my vest enough to finish it. I still don't love it, though. Using satiny fabric as lining really kind of sucks. It is a different weight and slippery too, so I think maybe that is why I simply can't smooth out the wrinkles. Last time my lining was the same grey stretchy fabric as the rest of the vest, and it worked out well.

I discovered that there is a specific way to petite a pattern which hasn't been designed that way. It would have been handy for my brain to think of that before I tried to make this vest.

What is the difference between a petite woman and a regular one? Well, a petite person is generally shorter, so a petite pattern has lines to shorten the garment at specific places- usually at the waist, but also some other places. A petite person would have a narrower back width, and may need to adjust the length from shoulder to bust. Usually petiting below the waist involves only hemming, but you might have to make adjustments to length in hip areas instead, depending on your shape. I plan on actually petiting this regular vest pattern and trying again. I'll post the resulting project along with a tutorial on how I did it (if it works).

My skirt is the same pattern I used to piece together the brown corduroy skirt I love, only this one doesn't have the bottom flounce. I think I like the flounce for the added length. This skirt is completely modest in that the length is as long as my fingertips, but I feel like the curve of my rear end shortens the back to make it inappropriate to wear to work. I'm considering adding a ruffle made of the light peachy/pink scraps.

So there you go. I'm not 100% thrilled with my creations, but I do think it's as cute as I was hoping, just not made as well as I like. I can't exactly blame anyone but myself for that!

Blah....

I realize that it has been some time since my last post. I realize it, make a note to write a post, and then never get around to it.

I passed my CDL test. There was some drama at the DMV (why can't they use the license I got 10 days ago as proof of address when i haven't moved? Here, have the EXACT SAME lease I showed you 10 days ago, yes it is still for an entire year of living there.) Then there was a whole lot of... nothing. I didn't have to get up early, I didn't have to do anything.

I felt, and still feel, a little bit lost. I could go ride my bike, but where shall I go all by myself? I could try to teach the dogs to ride with me, but I haven't gotten up the drive to drag the trailer downstairs and stand with Grunt in the hot sun trying to get him in it while he howls at me and Jackjack wonders quietly why we aren't GOING. I could sew, but so far I have not had any motivation to touch that stupid vest again to try and make it work, and somehow screwing up the vest has killed my urge to make the cute skirt wheich was supposed to go with it. I could find the scraps necessary to "fix" my tank top, or the pants that go with it, but again, I haven't yet. Maybe I need a new quick project to get me jump-started back into the swing of things?

I hate our dryer.

The dryer has tried twice to murder my clothes, once was successful, the other only attempted murder. I have lost one of my better bras because the dryer somehow ripped off the back of it. Usually it's not uncommon to find a hook bent straight or wildly crooked, or even mashed flat somehow, but this was brutal. The dryer completely ripped off the back of the bra! There weren't any straightened hooks, because there were no hooks at all. The article of clothing that survived is one reason why there has not been dryer homicide in our apartment.
My favorite shirt has a wonderful colorful pattern that I love, and it is a 3/4 sleeve knit shirt with drawstring ruching on the sides. The two drawstrings dangle. The dryer likes to bite anything with strings like an alligator and just like the reptile it will mercilessly death-roll it. I found my shirt twisted in horrible knots with a few other bystander clothes thrown into the works, and the drawstrings nearly ripped off. Really, it's a wonder that they survived. The second attempt on my shirt's life was completely unintentional- I think Jamie was helping me with laundry, or perhaps the shirt hid in a pair of pants or something. It barely survived that drying too.

So, I'm boycotting the dryer! Nothing of mine shall be dried in it again for the remainder of our lease. I'll still put Jamie's clothes in there (he has no fancy ties strings, or elastic to worry about). Mine will be air-dried on hangers in the closet. Hmmph.

We got sheets for our bed. Finally I was able to unpack the glory that is the quilt made by my grandmother just for us. She said it was her wedding present since she was sick and unable to attend. As you look on this photo, please remember that the proper amount of awe is simply unachievable for you, as you aren't able to hear the "ahhhhhh" sound of the angels singing as you behold it. Sorry.

I also rotated the bed. The hallway is the the right in this photo, I'm standing nearly in the closet.

Rainbow-colored thread!

The name of this quilt pattern is "Cosmos". The original colors for the glowing color block was red, orange,green and blue, but we swapped orange for purple. I think it is less Crayola this way, ad more balanced, more cosmicky. The effect of this awesome quilt is marred only very slightly with the addition of dog hair, which is a good thing because my little Jack Russel is losing so much hair I wonder how he isn't bald.

Speaking of dogs! Good grief, they are weird. 

Jackjack is old, I understand his excuse for not really having a clue of what is going on and how to communicate urges which have sort of become sudden for him. The general rule now is- if you left the house, even for half an hour, take him outside, he has to go. If he gets up and begins to wander, you must get up and be sure all the basics are met- food in both bowls (uneven bowls confuses him greatly), water to a relatively high level, something soft to lay on, and has he been out recently? If he doesn't go for the food or water, he has to go outside, because likely he was laying on the soft thing already, and he doesn't leave those very often. You have to notice him moving around, too. He may occasionally make a noise, but because he is deaf himself, this is not guaranteed. If he stares at you for more than 3 seconds, he then assumes that you don't particularly care whether he pees indoors or out, and so he will proceed to relieve himself where the urge strikes next. That could even be right in front of you if you misinterpreted his catch-all stare-signal. 

It only took him a week or so to figure out the new way to go outside (leashes are required and a short walk, you have to tell me before you're leaking!). We have a baby gate and just like at the Oregon house, he gets shut into a room (our bathroom) with linoleum flooring with his water dish and comfy bed, sometimes food if we'll be gone a while or he hasn't had breakfast yet. He is content to lay in there and snooze until we return- whether that span of time is half an hour, or most of a day. The first few times he was not a good dog in there- he wet the bed and then dumped the water out and traipsed it all over the floor and looked pathetic when we got back from even the shortest grocery run. I decided that maybe he hated peeing on linoleum if he had to go because it splashed him, and so the newly washed bed was put down with a hand towel. I have no idea of my theory is correct, because he stopped having accidents in there at all. 

Grunt, on the other hand, is being a complete dummy. I'm not sure what his issue is. On those same short trips, he absolutely has to pee on a wall. Usually it is really easy to find because there is yellow on the baseboard, and it isn't like he is having accidents- this is marking, not Lake Erie bladder overflow. I tried putting him behind a short table in the kitchen. He did NOT respect the boundary like I expected at all, and tore the slightly padded covering off the folded table, escaped the kitchen area where he had a set-up like Jackjack, and then also peed on the wall. Huh? We had put chairs with backs in front of the table to keep him honest and not jumping over it where he could hurt himself, and that little Houdini had none of that. We had to out that very same day and so we tried swapping places- Grunt went into the bathrooma nd Jack in the kitchen. Grunt chewed on the bottom of the door and locked himself in. It took no effort to get him out, but he certainly was not thrilled when we did!

I have tried everything I can think of to make him behave, and short of stuffing him into a crate when we leave, or maybe having his testicles removed, I don't know what's gotten into him. It makes me sad to have to yell at my dog, but its pets acting just like he is acting that are the reason why people have to pay huge stupid deposits and fees to own pets. He wasn't suppose to earn that fee for us!

So anyway: yay quilt, grr dogs, and blah. School starts this Thursday. I can't wait.

Dinner by Bike

Today was awesome.

I did dishes in exchange for delicious wheat-flour pancakes with sliced bananas on top and a dribble of sugar-syrup liquid. Jamie cooked them in the pan with butter, so they had that wonderful buttery taste on the outside.

Our friend had plans to go to his parents' house for dinner again tonight, so Jamie and I decided to go on a bike ride. Our first stop was Office Depot, to say hi and pick up some index cards. I'm planning to use them to help me and maybe other coworkers memorize pre-trip details.

Then, we headed out looking for somewhere to eat. Jamie's dad gifted us with a little bit of housewarming money, and we found an inexpensive pizza place. We ordered waters with lemon and a big Greek salad to share. We ate all the salad and then one small slice each of a simple pizza topped with sun-dried tomatoes. The rest of the pizza serves as lunch tomorrow!

Then we took the Greenway trail nearly all the way home. Jamie showed me the waterfall that he had seen on his way to the drug test a few days ago. Isn't it pretty?

 

Waterfall, up close.

 

A really neat table we found. We'll have to come back for a picnic!

Pizza seems to be riding along just fine.

 

Just beautiful!

 The whole trip seems to be about 10 miles. I found out Jamie likes to go fast, and I was in higher gears than I'm used to, but not having any trouble keeping up. I'll have to remember to not be lazy when I'm by myself, I guess.

And, I just found a button here on Blogger that implies I can upload a video, so let me try...

Nope, error messages.

Previously I've tried uploading the apartment tour by Photobucket and Facebook. I wonder if something is wrong with my video. I'll keep working on it.

Facebook came through! See the tour HERE

Anyway, I got some work done on my new outfit- a light pink/peachy vest with a dark pink skirt with tiny white polkadots. It turns out that my vest pattern is NOT for Misses Petite, which I most definitely am. I found the waistline mark and took out the inch of pattern like I did with the rest. When I tried on the outer shell, I still had to take in a 1/2 inch of extra seam allowance at the the shoulders and sides. My pattern notes had adjustments in the back width and shoulders, but I think the petite shortening helped. We'll see how it turns out. The vest is much lower in front that I remembered, so I will have to wear a shirt underneath. I had been hoping it could be worn by itself. The skirt is the same pattern I used for the pieced-together brown corduroy one I made, only it won't have the flounce on the bottom. It should still end up being a modest length, but above-the-knee. I'll add inside pockets which open at the yoke line instead of having the outer pockets of the pattern.

Tomorrow is Monday, and I'll be riding my bike to meet my ride at the close terminal, to be driven to the far one. Next Monday will be my CDL testing! Jamie's position should be posted early next week and hopefully he can start before the end of the week too.

Goodnight!

Getting Things Tidy

Well, my first week of training is done. The paperwork is out of the way now, and next week will be all outside working with the buses, learning to drive (or proving we can) and relearning how to pass a pre-trip examination. It always counts as relearning, because for a test you have to be very specific, touch bus parts as you talk about what exactly you are looking for, and usually you have to say things in a certain way. Each county or district or state can be slightly different than any other one you happened to work in, so it pays to just pretend like you have no idea what you're doing so your brain can keep the new script it needs to pass this time.

I've managed to make a new friend, and he is a very nice guy who lives in town. He has agreed to pick me up and drop me off on his way to and from the far terminal, and we have one other rider who has no car also. Jamie made the great suggestion that since I'm still itching for regular bike rides, that I see about riding to someplace to get picked up instead of just waiting at the apartment complex. It turns out that the other guy lives right near the West terminal, so everyone said it was fine if our chauffeur picks us both up there. That way I still get about a 3 mile ride. It is lovely in the morning and cool, and after staying outside all day practicing pre-trips or driving around I'm sure the afternoon heat won't bother me. I usually only get hot after I've stopped pedaling and making my own wind by moving forward.

I'm trying to tidy up the apartment for a tour video, because I really am not a slob and I don't want to look like one in a video. I successfully cleaned our bedroom this morning and organized my desk. My desk serves double-duty as computer station and crafting area, so I had to make sure it was easy to slip my laptop away and pull my sewing machine into use. I have a handy keyboard tray to be the laptop's home.

Today after organizing my desk, I promptly put it to use in fixing several things in my new clothes. My turquoise shirt-dress did not survive it's first wash in the apartment machines. The evil thing tried to rip off my collar ties. (The dryer tries to eat bra straps and drawstrings.) I had just about decided that I didn't like the bowtie collar anyway, but being half ripped-off was more of an emergency-fix situation. The ties didn't remain flat and liked to get all wonky. I don't have an iron to constantly fix them, so today the neckline of the dress became plain.
I removed the hem in my lovely brown pants as well. It turns out that even if you think your fabric was washed, if you have a doubt- wash it! My pants have shrunk slightly. I'm not certain if they are tight enough to be uncomfortable, but they are definitely too short! I only had 1" tucked under for a hem and I'm not certain if that will even be enough to reach the ground now. Pre-wash your fabric!
Lastly, I just had to add a pocket to my lime green jumper. I love having a dress, but I simply cannot go without a pocket for my cell phone. I refuse. Instead of exterior pockets like the turquoise dress has, I simply split the side seam and made an inside pocket that goes across the whole side-front section of the princess seam. Seems to have worked perfectly, though it was a pain to put it in there.

I think I'd like to review each pattern and share my thoughts on them in case anyone else would like to make clothes. I know my mom is interested in at least one, and so I've made sure to cut out my fabric by folding the tissue paper instead of just cutting along my size line. I'll post more pictures of each outfit too, because my phone didn't get a great photo to share with everyone, and I'm very happy with the start of my new home-made wardrobe.

Have a great weekend everybody!