My serger and all it's accessories are waiting for me in Hillsboro. I can't pick it up until Saturday. The wait is killing me.

I enjoyed my sewing group meeting tonight. I always like to see what everyone else has been up to. Maybe next time I will have some (finished!) stuff for show and tell. :)

Today's tip for marital bliss: If your spouse buys a brand new bike that is very light and fairly expensive, do not under any circumstances go fast enough to drop him on the flats ON THE VERY FIRST RIDE. This is poor form and will likely result in a fair amount of whining.  

I avoided discord by a mere 15 seconds. I led out at 27 and reached 31 courtesy of two semi trucks. Fortunately for me I did not try to see how long I could hold it. Whew! So I didn't drop him. But still - it was a close thing. I was almost in a LOT of trouble!!!

 Is it Saturday yet?      Yet?       YET??      The waiting is killing me.

Now that the run is done, pancakes and eggs for breakfast. MMmmmmmm!

Hubby got a new bike! We went and picked it up today. It's a Specialized Roubaix with a compact crankset. It's veeerrrrrrryyyyy spiffy looking, and since it was built for the cobblestones of the Paris-Roubaix, it apparently rides like a cloud. I will find out tomorrow. He's not sure he likes the white bar tape and white seat though.  We're taking it out tomorrow. He got it all set up with his pedals, odometer, etc. etc. today. We wear nearly the same size shoe, so I can borrow his Sidi's and try it out a little. He suggested I upgrade my wheels and my fork. Who am I to say no? :)

Homemade pizza for dinner. I do a part whole wheat crust in the bread machine, and put chicken sausage, red bell pepper, mushrooms, caramelized onion, browned zuchini slices on it, with some fresh basil and a bit of goat cheese on top. Newman's sockarooni sauce base. Heaven. It was so good. And there's enough for lunch tomorrow.

Powerball is $181 million. I'm buying a ticket tomorrow. That would be awesome. I would so not go in to work on Thursday. :)

NO SPOILERS!!! 

10pm. We just got back from the Bourne Ultimatum. I really liked it. Lots of action, plot (sorta)surprises, and someone from the first movie was back. I really liked it, but got a bit tired of all the jerky camera work. Sorta gives me a headache. The only question I have now is "But who IS she???" Guess I'll wait for #4. Retourne of Bourne. LOL

7pm. I'm SOOOOO excited. I finally made a decision. I ordered myself a new serger today. I got a fantastic deal on a really expensive one, added some accessories, and it will be here Wednesday. I won't be able to get out there to pick it up until next Saturday. How am I gonna wait that long???? I have a serger, but spend a great deal of time rethreading it (grrrr) instead of sewing - this one promises to make coffee for me while I sew, it's that cool. The only thing better would be that I set it up, throw the fabric in the room, and go ride my bike. LOL!

Post-Farmers Market: I wish I knew how to can things. Or more accurately, I wish there were recipes for canning that didn't start out with "snap 5 bushels of pole beans", or "clean 27 flats of blackberries and buy 35 pounds of sugar". I have made jam before, but the recipes I've used are so iffy. There's only two of us eating this stuff, and I totally do not want to spend an entire day making 5 gallons of something that's barely mediocre. Or worse,  poisonous! Check out this warning:

Canning is an exact science, you absolutely should only use recipes that are proven safe be a reliable source, and NEVER alter the recipe or canning instructions. Modifying the tested recipe may alter the pH value and that affects the processing time. A final note of caution: Check yearly with your county extension office to see if any of your recipe pamphlets have been updated.

Holy crap! Our city/county stopped funding that office about 10 years ago. No wonder no one cans anymore. My library has this book: The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving Maybe I'll try that. I love pickled green beans.

We went to the Clark County Fair today and had a GREAT time! It's amazing to me though, that it cost $5 to park and $9 each to get in. $23 to even get in the door. That's gotta be the freakin' most expensive corn dog in the entire universe. But it was SO GOOD!!! Yum - and my favorite - that crunchy little part on the stick. MMmmmmm. I even left a voice mail telling my trainer how good it was. He's been trying to talk me out of eating a corn dog for two weeks. Do you know what's IN those things??? Whatever. It was delicious. Then we had strawberry funnelcake with whipped cream, some cheddar cheese kettle corn, and later some bbq chicken complete with roll, grilled corn, baked beans and cole slaw. Well, hubby at the beans and slaw. Not my favorite. Then some caramel kettle corn for dessert. Sadly, we were too full/sick for elephant ears. And I decided Ice cream could wait for another splurge week.

I got some neat beads, and a belly dancer belt that jingles, and some good info on a serger (sewing machine) that I hadn't considered before.

I just spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out the various brands/models to decide what to 'test drive'. This is the sewing equivalent of a tri bike. It is possible to spend a freakin' fortune, but there's a lot of options middle of the road. I'm no good at this shopping thing, and like bikes, it's best to test drive them. Of course 4 brands means 4 shops none of which are near each other. I shouldn't complain about a new toy, but I want to play with it right now, not shop for it. :) Do I have to turn in my girl card for not liking shopping?

The Wheelmen Ride!

Sadly, I was completely unmotivated to do it. It would've been SOOOOO easy to talk myself out of it. Still, got changed and met hubby at the start. Astonishingly, there were four chicks this time. Me, Deb who is maybe in her 50s and I think used to race?? maybe still does, a dark-haired ponytail, and one other that I think was also in her 50s.  There were many of the regulars: Mike, Zipp Wheels, Ken who is very fast, and three other fast guys that I don't know their names. There's a TALL middle eastern guy who is really strong but doesn't talk much, and a few more. I think there were 15 people on the ride tonight. Smaller group than usual. Our ride leader Dennis met us at the park but did not ride - he's scraping the house to paint this weekend.

We headed for Rocky Butte and the group dynamic was totally different - and at least 4mph slower on the leadout. I got to Rocky Butte, checked my time at the signpost (27:32) and started up. Spinning well, and keeping hubby's wheel. Oddly, no one was passing me. I always get passed within 10 pedal strokes of the sign at the bottom. Turns out I was going 9mph!! And spinning easy.  Wow!! So I kept hubby's wheel for a while, punched it up to 10 through the tunnel, kept 10 up through a steep part and eventually dropped to 7 (where I usually end up at 5-6). Cool - I'm thinking this may be a PB day.

I push it up the second hill stretch at 7, shift down and push hard on the little flat, and then stand up to climb the last bit. I couldn't stand up the whole way, but my time at the top was 34:11.  Doesn't that make 6:39?? I swear it does, but hubby says we weren't working that hard, so it couldn't be. Hmmm. I think it was 6:39 - I was faster than normal all over that hill. I'm calling it a PB. So there. It still won't get me up the hill faster than him. What on earth will that take??

Our group got a little split up on the way out Sandy Blvd.  Three groups were going - then the second group caught the first I think. (I was in the third group due to lights.) Then we headed up the hill to Fremont. I hate that hill. Starts out easy then it just keeps getting steeper. My thighs burn and I usually always get to watch as the guys stand up and pedal away. :( Hubby and I lost the group at the turn onto Fremont - hubby's bike was wiggly, had to check it - then pulled like crazy to catch them. We were fortunate on the light - just got through. I love a tailwind with a mild downhill. We passed two other people, and I pulled our group of 4 down Fremont at 34 until we caught the main group. Had a little break as we turned by the park, then worked to keep a wheel on the way to the post office. I usually get dropped on this section but today I didn't. Yay!

Rest stop at the post office, and a water fill at the gas station. Then out Airport Way. Again, thank the cycling gods for tailwinds. This time I was MOP, and stayed on Deb's wheel. She dropped off and I sprinted up to the leaders. That was good, except Mike was leading, then the middle eastern guy, then me. This is a problem because when it was my turn to lead, the pace was 27mph and I led too long, couldn't catch the back of the peloton and then blew up. Damn!!! Hubby stayed in the group all the way out, and then halfway up the hill to the turn. Yay him! He usually gets dropped before then, and kept up this time. We must both be getting faster/stronger. :)

We were back a ways in the peloton for the trip back on airport Way, which was just fine as we were then heading into the wind that had been at our backs. We kept up with the group until we turned right onto Cornfoot Rd. Middle eastern guy was leading, then Mike rode hard to catch up with him. I was third again and busted my keister trying to catch them. 21, 22, 24... 24... 24... almost.... almost... gawd it hurts... YES! got Mike's wheel. Trouble was, I'd used it all up pedalling 24 into a headwind, and couldn't keep his wheel once I had it. Crap. Then the five fast guys (who had been working together to catch us) passed me. I was excited that now I had another wheel to grab - but they were going too fast.  I couldn't latch on. I was on my own again until hubby caught me.

We caught Zipp Wheel guy waiting at the last light, and rode back to the park with him. He says he's faster with his Zipps. (Apparently not fast enough to catch the light...)  A set of those would sure be nice.  They would weigh 1000grams less than mine, at least. My ass could lose three times that though and that wouldn't cost me $2K. I'd ride up the hill faster then too. I hate being practical.

This was a really great ride tonight. There were two times that I thought we were going too slow, checked my speedometer, and it read 22mph. Sweet!! 22 is now "slow". I was really happy with my trip up Rocky Butte. Even if I read my time wrong, I was faster on the whole thing. My thighs are absolutely shot. I did lunges on Tuesday, and tonight's ride destroyed them. They hurt just sitting here typing. Maybe if I beg hubby, he'll get me some ice. :)

Now for some knitting. That requires no thigh movement. LOL!