More Rides & Many "Irons in the Fire"

Since my last post, I've managed to do two more long bike rides with Mark, 20 miles and 29 miles respectively!  I must be in pretty good shape (not literally, though) to be able to do those lengthy rides.  Both of us were running out of steam by mile 22 on yesterday's ride but we pushed on as we had to get home.  I think the bowl of cereal we had that morning had burned up several miles back.  We decided to bring an energy bar with us the next time and eat it at the turnaround point.  I also need to drink more water.


Tomorrow we'll do another ride but I think we'll scale back the miles this time--give my body more time to get used to the distance.  We'll see how I feel during the ride--a game day decision.  :)


I've been busy trying to set up another blog for my photography business and have been working with Mark on the Web site.  It may take another couple of weeks before I get it up and running; just depends on how much time we can spend on it.


I have a lot of "irons in the fire" right now and am trying to prioritize what needs to get done first. As Secretary of the local New Horizons Band, I'm working on several documents, articles, etc. for the board prior to the fall start-up in September.  I was also just notified that I was selected to be the New Horizons International Music Association's Newsletter Editor (our parent organization) and will need to produce a newsletter in September.  That's going to take some time since I'll need to figure out the mechanics of getting the information to input into the issue. Should be interesting!


I'm also writing a couple of articles for our local community magazine.  And, Mark and I just recently agreed to be co-chairs (along with another couple) for the Wine Tasting group which is part of the Fort Collins Newcomers Club.  The position is for one year and requires that we organize monthly events for the club.


I'm still practicing drums daily (a minimum of an hour but more like 2 hours) and take weekly drum lessons.  I stopped my guitar lessons over the summer but really hope to start them up again in by October at the latest.  I also have a goal to start a band comprised of baby boomers that love to play classic rock (the songs of the 60s & 70s along with other great songs of the later decades) but I may have to wait a few more months before I tackle that.


And, on top of all of this, I hope to frequently spend time with Sophia, my 6 1/2 week old granddaughter!  She is so precious and is already charming us with her cute little smile!


A new business venture, music, writing, bicycling, and family.  It's a busy time for this"retired" gal...and I love it!

New Road Bike

My hand, arm and back muscles are pretty weary right now...not sure I can manage this post...just kidding.   A great bike ride today has left me exhausted!  (I'll definitely sleep well tonight!)


I did a 10 mile bike ride yesterday with Mark who was on his road bike while I was on my mountain bike.  It was a great ride but I couldn't keep up with him and he wasn't even going as fast as he could.  I decided right then and there it was time to get a new road bike!


I have an old one; it was purchased 33 years ago in Minot, North Dakota and I'm sure bike technology has changed quite a bit since then.  I brought that old bike to Okinawa and it actually survived Super Typhoon Wynn!  It was time for an upgrade.


I got a "Specialized" Dolce model yesterday and tried it out today.  Mark and I decided to go a little farther and ended up on a 20 mile ride.  The bike is awesome!  I'm getting used to the thinner tires and didn't want to push the speed.  


We're going to try to bike at least 5 times a week (while we have good weather).  It really is a good cardio workout, particularly climbing hills!  

Too Dangerous

Mark and I took a nice drive today up to the Red Feather Lakes area in Larimer County.  We checked out the Dowdy Lake campground and it's one we'd like to camp at for a couple of days.  Lots of pine trees, a beautiful lake and the camping spaces don't seem like they are on top of each other.


We took Hwy 14 up along the Poudre River which is always a gorgeous drive and today was no exception.  The river is exceptionally high and fast right now due to mountain snow melting.  There were a lot of rafting groups on the river and unfortunately for one group, it turned out deadly.  


As we were driving up the highway, I saw a guy giving CPR to a man on the ground.  Apparently according to the news tonight, one of the rafts overturned and one individual received a broken leg while another was swept downstream.  Someone on the bank saw the body come down and got it out of the water, but it was too late.  He couldn't revive him.


The two pictures on the right show how rough the Poudre River is right now.  This particular raft was about a mile upstream from where the other capsized.  Definitely not a good day for rafting!

It's Official!

I made it official today...I now have my own photography business!  It's called "Best Life Photography".  Mark has been working on the Web site today and I hope to have it ready by next week.  I will probably create a blog for the business, too.


I'm meeting with the golf pro at our club tomorrow and hope to do some golf tournament shoots in the future.  I'm planning on photographing Matt's band, Musketeer Gripweed on Saturday at the Fort Collins Brewers Festival while they perform.  I'll be scheduling a couple of children photoshoots within the next couple of weeks, too.


I've always enjoyed photography so thought it was a natural progression to have my own business.  I'll have more details to share soon!

An Empty House Again

Things were a little busy over the past few days as my in-laws were visiting hence my absence of blog entries.  Anna Mae, Sue, and Carol arrived on Friday and left this morning.  We all spent time with Sara, Zach, and Sophia over the weekend (twice at their house and once up here in Fort Collins)!  Also brought them to the French Nest Market on Saturday and then to the Club for dinner where we met up with our friends, Karen and Bob.  Had a fun time and fun visit!


Now that things are quite quiet here, I'll focus on finishing getting our business set up legally this week.  I'm working on the portfolio and I need to figure out which Web site provider I want to use and then start building that, too!  


Lots to do!  And, let's not forget, I have daily drum practice to do, too!


The new picture on the right is Sophia just over 1 month old now!  Click on her photo and you'll see more pictures from our Father's Day get-together with Zach's family at Sara and Zach's house.

Working on the New Business

I am amazed at how many regulations and references I need to review in order to set up a home business.  It's all quite confusing as there are local association, county, and state requirements to sort out.  Lots of research and very time consuming.  I wish I could find one place to go to that would cover all the bases for me all at once.  


Not only am I working on getting it set up legally, I'm trying to build a Web site, portfolio, and make arrangements on the retail side for customer orders.  Whew!  I'll fill everybody in as soon as I get the legal aspects squared away.

Not Today

We took Buster to the vet today and I fully expected to not see him come home with us.  He has a cancer on his head but other than that, he is about the same as he has been this past year.  I could barely talk to the vet between my tears. 


He gave us an option to try a steroid shot which should reduce the swelling of the cancer but doesn't make it go away.  We are to check back with him at the end of the week to see how he is doing.  I've already decided that if Buster gets worse, Mark will need to bring him to the vet because it's just too hard on me.  I'm just a basket case there.