Charge to Action

If my last entry left some of you on the edge of your seats wondering if I survived my Monday, worry no more.  Here I am.  Barely.

OK, that is an exaggeration.  I am totally here. 

Yesterday I had a bit of a brain explosion due to the fact that I realized that my next two weeks are going to be a bit busier than I had anticipated.  With visitors rolling in from out of town to my epic trek up to Fargo for the Hallinglag where I will be hanging out with a bunch of old Norwegians, it is sure to be exciting. 

The factor which really complicates everything is school.  No, the course work is not overwhelming and I am certain that I will be able to complete it in a satisfactory manner.  It's just that having class twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays really messes with my attempts to spend time at both my parents' house and my own place.  So maybe Lena complicates things a bit as well, but in a good way.

Grrr.  I just spent some time outlining the intricacies of my upcoming schedule before I realized that it was incredibly boring.  Instead, I will keep it brief.  There are going to be a TON of people passing through my parents' house in the next couple of weeks.  From relatives to friends to dogs, it is sure to be a bit chaotic.  But fun, always fun.

I think that I may need to utilize this blog space to ask you readers once again to be my Accountabilibuddies.  This weekend is looking to be a pretty quiet one for me.  The calm before the storm, if you will.  I would really like for the weather to be decent.  Not just because it is nice to have sunshine and not rain, but because I think it is time to use my new bike.  It is sitting in the garage, looking all pretty and awesome, but it really needs to be taken out on a big journey. 

No, not across the state or anything.  Just maybe up to Lake Harriet.  Or Lake Calhoun.  I am always a bit torn about it because it means that my dog cannot accompany me.  I did find some really funny dog trailer carriers at the bike shop, but I struggle with the purpose of such a device.  Essentially it is like one of those kid carrier trailers, but smaller. 

While it could be useful for someone traveling with their dog, I cannot see the point of encasing a wildly energetic terrier mix in one for what would surely be a frustrating and frightening ride around the neighborhood.  It certainly wouldn't give her any exercise which in turn really doesn't soothe my concern over the fact that a bikeride excludes her participation.

So I guess that the solution is to do both a walk and a ride.  Take Lena out for a stroll and then go off on my own to give my bike some exercise.  I guess that is a double benefit for me.  I just hope my motivation holds, which brings me back to you, dear readers.  Now that I have told you my intentions, I have more determination to actually follow through for fear of disappointing you.  Right?  Right.

Safety Concerns

Here I am, posting on a weekend.  A three-day weekend to be more specific!  Aside from the less than stellar weather we have been having around here, it has been a good time so far with one exception.

Yesterday, I arose at a later hour as is my custom on weekends when I have no reason to awaken early.  The house was empty which led me to conclude that my parents had taken the dogs for a walk.  Fine by me.  I went into the kitchen which overlooks the living room which overlooks the front yard and street.  As I gazed unfocused at the view from the window, I noticed a small anomaly.

There it was, the neighborhood coyote, standing in the street straight out in front of our house.  At first I thought it was a dog, but it was unleashed with no human in sight.  When I examined the profile of the creature, I realized pretty quickly that it matched a coyote description perfectly.

To get a closer look, I stepped out onto the front steps of the house (in my full pajama regalia) and stared at it (I don't know if it is a boy or girl).  As I watched, it jogged up into the relatively wooded yard of our neighbors across the street.  A minute later, it emerged on the other side of the yard, crossed the street and went into our next door neighbor's yard.  It then proceeded to lay down next to some shrubbery and scratch itself.

I cannot say that I was in full panic mode at this point, but I was concerned.  I called my father to warn him to keep an eye out when they returned with our dogs to the vicinity and then took a picture on my phone.

Later that day, my dad ran into one of the neighbors and mentioned it to her.  She remarked that she had noticed that the rabbit population had seemed much lower this year and that having a predator was likely helping that situation.  I'm not sure that I agree with this being a good thing.  I would far rather have the plant life of the neighborhood be in jeopardy than the pet population.

On a happier note, yesterday I got a new bike!  It was part of the amazing car deal I experienced last weekend.  If you bought a new car, you got a new bike.  There was a specific bike associated with the deal, but if you didn't want that you could exchange the coupon for a gift card and get whatever you wanted from the bike shop.  I chose to do this.  Not because Trek mountain bikes aren't awesome, but because the Electra Townie bike was so much more my style.

So far, I have only taken in out around the neighborhood, but when I venture out further I will keep you posted if I have any more adventures like those of my youth as outlined here.  I am pretty sure that there are no bike cops in these parts judging from the fact that most of the biking population does not seem to think that basic traffic signs and rules apply to them.  But that is a whole other rant and I am just not in the mood for that right now.

As tomorrow will be a travel day for me, I will likely not post again until the weekend is over.  I hope that everyone has safe travels and fun times.