Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Life Is Like That, Sometimes. . .

Recently, I was cleaning out my desk, and I came across a file of some of my favorite old cartoons.  Now, I don't have any plans to turn this humble blog into a Xavier-style clearing-house of visual humor, but perhaps some of you will appreciate a few of my favorites (quite aside from the insight they might provide into the bizarre twists and turns of my psyche) (and of course, my ego must be simply titanic for me to think that any of you might even want such insight. . .)

Anyway, in honor of All Saints' Day -  this one hit me where I was living, a few years back. . .


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I rode another 33 miles this past weekend, which gives me a total of 1238 miles for the riding season, through October (which is down a bit from my usual mileage, because of my dad's death, and a couple bouts of unplanned illness) (but hey - who plans their illness?).  In past years, I've had three or four good riding weekends in November (recent years haven't afforded me any rides in December, but if the weather is agreeable enough, I'll go out any time), although my miles will start to decrease with the temperatures (once it gets below 40F or so, it becomes an issue of keeping my toes warm, and that limits my rides to around 20 miles; below 32F, I stay indoors).  So, I've got maybe another 100 miles or so before the season ends. . .

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Also this past weekend, Jen engaged in her annual ritual of Providence and Resourcefulness, aka The Canning of the Applesauce.  I don't know how many bushels of apples she started with, but by the time she finished, we had 75 quarts of applesauce in the pantry.  

Mmmmm. . . home-canned applesauce. . .

I love my wife. . .

15 comments:

  1. Enjoy the applesauce! Middle Child picked 16 pounds of apples last month and we have just about managed to get through it just by eating them or me making a variety of baked goods.

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  2. my son has become a biking fiend. he was a bit annoyed when we told him no biking this saturday during the snowstorm that dumped 8 inches on us.

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  3. Homemade applesauce is the best. My Dad used to make it, in plain and cinnamon varieties. Yum!

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  4. Bijoux - Baked apple goods are always good. . .

    We always leave aside enough apples for Jen to slice & dry for our traditional Christmas apple wreaths. . .

    Lime - Isaac sounds like my kind of committed cyclist. Altho I draw the line at ice/snow actually being on the ground; things that could foreseeably result in me coming into contact with the motor-vehicular traffic, I try to avoid. A few times, I've gone out, and the snow has started to fall while I was riding, and that's always a very cool thing, as long as it doesn't start to accumulate on the road. . .

    And I thought, just maybe, you might appreciate the 'toon. . . ;)

    Suldog - Very few things any better. We just make it all plain, then add whatever - cinnamon and raspberries are our favorites - once it's on the table. . . Some of our kids like to put applesauce on their waffles. . .

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  5. For some reason applesauce makes me think of pork chops... now I'm hungry.
    I always hated riding a bike in the wind, unless it was at my back.

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  6. mmmm, applesauce! We had some this past weekend, during the 18" snowstorm (Imagine how the idjiots deal with that, around here!)... yummm!

    Great on the mileage even with illness & death, that's awesome!

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  7. Skip - Well, that's why I usually try to set up my rides to go out into the wind, and come home with it. . .

    You're right, tho - there are two major 'challenges' on a bike - wind and hills. You can attack a hill, and be done with it in a couple minutes (at least, the hills around here); but the wind is just relentless. . . Especially this fall. . .

    Sailor - Eighteen inches?!? In October?!? Man, that's just not right. . .

    My miles were lookin' pretty good - I was on pace for something like 1500 miles - until, you know, 'stuff' started happening. Just a little frustrating to think that I left a couple hundred miles out there, unridden. I hope there's bikes in Heaven. . . ;)

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  8. Potato Pancakes, sour cream, Home made apple sauce..Banzai!!

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  9. bike rides and applesauce. Gotta be a way to combine the two ....

    Cold toes? You need some of my hunting foot warmers ..... that'll get you into December easy

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  10. BTW- I saw the crack .... will let it slide, for now. ;-)

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  11. G-Man - You're makin' me drool. . . Applesauce just goes so well with all sorts of things, dunnit?

    Xavier - Well, if I was really gonzo, I could pull my trailer out to the orchard, and haul a couple bushels home. . .

    And the problem I have with foot-warmers, is finding something that'll fit inside my toe-clips. Right now, I throw on a pair of wool socks over the cotton ones, and that helps, but the pressure of my feet on the pedals (and, you know, my feet are hangin' pretty directly in the airflow) seems to cut the circulation to my toes just enough that, after 20 miles or so, the cold is kinda painful. . .

    And what crack? I was holding you up as an exemplar of a certain type of blogging. . . And you, my friend, are VERY exemplary. . .

    ;)

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  12. Fair enough, but ya might try losing a pair of socks in favor of foot warmers. They take up less space and provide some pretty good heat. Monday I spent 13 hours in the woods, mostly sitting, at temps between 25-35 with nice toasty toes. Not bad for a near-geezer, huh?

    Nice recovery ... ;-)

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  13. Well, you know, it wouldn't be the first time I've used 'hunting gear' for cycling purposes. I've found that a blaze-orange hoodie is just the thing for combining warmth (most especially to my ears, which are at least as much of an issue as my toes) and visibility (which is absolutely crucial for riding in proximity to machines 10 times heavier and 5 times faster than me). . .

    And just to be clear - the 'issue' with winter riding has at least as much to do with the road conditions as the temperatures. Quite a bit more, actually. . .

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  14. What, no snow treads or tire chains?

    :-)

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  15. If I were really determined to ride in the snow, I suppose I'd have a mountain bike (or somesuch) with knobby tires; 4M rides one to school all winter. But I don't think I'm that determined (road salt, and the whole keeping-the-moving-parts-oiled thing. . . no thanks). . .

    And tire chains might weigh more than my whole bike. . .

    ;)

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