just pictures

today I am only gracing you with pictures from the week

I am not a "great photographer" but I enjoy "greatly" taking pictures, so back off!

miles of shoulders

This will be short and sweet... we packed up our bikes, tent and swimsuits in a rental Subaru outback and drove 3.5 hours to Cormorant Lake. The day was beautiful. We met Ben's friend John from Fargo, he left his car and we rode together another 40 minutes to Fargo for the night.

Early Saturday morning we took off from West Fargo after a little bike maintenance. Our planned ride was about 50-60 miles depending on how we felt and the temp outside. The first 25 miles was flat... it was intimidating seeing in the distance, then the hills. The final 25 miles had various hills and at one point we were just climbing... ahhhh. All in all, I got to see what the shoulders of roads look like and feel like close up?!?!

We made the 50 miles from West Fargo to Cormorant Lake in a little under 4 hours, with two major (5-10 minute) water/fruit breaks. Not bad! We all thought we could go more but the heat was rising and many body parts were numb and needed a break!

The sunsets never disappoint here.
On Sunday we packed up and headed out of town, but not before visiting my friend Kate and her husband Justin. Kate just delivered her first baby on June 17th, 2 weeks before their one year wedding anniversary!
Eleanor Lori Fosberg was a little gem, while Kate didn't look happier. I can tell already she is going to be an amazing mom!

love.

More cool Eco things :)

If one takes the time to search out eco-friendly products, one can find them. The only problem is making sure they really have all natural products, or that they are really 100% organic or biodegradable. As time passes, I will post things that I find interesting with links. All it takes is a little more effort, instead of buying the "cheapest" or running to Target (or god-forbid Wal-Mart) for everything.

By some estimates, between 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are consumed world-wide every year; Americans are responsible for around 100 billion of those -- that's a lot. Towns like Modbury in the UK, cities like San Francisco in the US and stores like IKEA are all trying to do something about it, by banning them. Treehugger for the full story.

One plastic bag can take up to 100 years to decompose... how many did you throw out this week? Try Biobags.... biodegradable trash bags!

OR.... turn those unwanted plastic bags into fabric!

One idea that seems to be a hit amongst the DIY and creative arty crowd is to fuse various plastic bags together and make fabric out of them. The basic process is to iron the plastic bags, with a sheet of baking paper between iron and plastic, until two or more sheets fuse together. Full story at Treehugger.

If you do decide to throw out old ones, which we all do, please put knots in the bag so the wind doesn't catch it in the landfill and create litter ;)

A fantabulous site for "green" tips is: Ideal Bite... I learn so much! (Pssst... sign up for their newsletter!)

three fairly quick things...

One...

Thank you to my parents for generously giving me this tool set and luggage when I left for college. I think they wanted to say "get the f* out of my house, and if something breaks along the way, fix it" Well, this tool set has been my saving grace for everything from hanging pictures on the wall (fairly straight) to changing a bike tire, which, uh-hum, I did for the first time last night.... SUCCESSFULLY!

Two...

My cat formally known as Jude, nicknamed "the beast" is a 6lb female full grown orange tabby whose favorite toys are nothing I have actually spent money on for that purpose. She prefers newspapers, pencils, the cord to our blinds, and the random bug she will chase and torture before consuming for protein. What a life.

Three...
We are leaving today for Fargo to take a bike trek with Ben's friend. The ride will go from Fargo to "the lake". (Ben's parent's lake home by Pelican Lake, MN). Our ride is approximately 60 miles and hilly. One good thing... it is supposed to be 87 and sunny. Shit.. and I am wearing all black. At least I have a new tire.

(green)peace.

what's powering your...

Check out this article from TreeHugger:

" You are speeding along on your bike, feeling good about the exercise and the total lack of emissions, when your reverie is broken by the jazzy hum of your cellphone’s tune. Do you fumble through your pockets in a panic, knowing your charge is low and wondering if this will be more important than the usual “Hello, where are you?” Or are you fully outfitted with the Pedal & Power® phone charger, your mobile phone resting safely in the holder on your handlebars, juicing up with each turn of your pedals?"

I am all for human powered appliances and such, check out this forklift :) (Gizmodo)

photo love.

this past weekend at lake of the islesthe beast loves it at the lakenew mural at cal surf in uptown
notice how the basket is on... right on the fender. this caused problems with the zip ties hitting the wheel and making a buzz noise... i finally got "un"lazy and put a rack on today (picture at bottom)
LOVE... reminds me of the song by dispatch - "railway" (but before I know it I'm going down this itty bitty river in a boat a little bigger than a bath tub)

commute... by bike, please - street art outside isles bun and coffee

much better set up, i can actually haul heavy items, what joy
love.

when robots draw

http://www.hektor.ch/Videos/Beautifull-Place.mov/

This is neato.

It's is a portable Spray-paint Output Device for laptop computers. It's name is Hektor.

Info from Design Evolution.

How to make your own Tie-Up sandals

I got a little creative and decided that I wanted a pair of those "lace-up" sandals, so I searched around the house and created my very own pair.

Because I love sharing ideas, here's how to make a pair for yourself... pretty easy, no glue, or sewing, unless you want to...


Items needed:
- pair of flip-flop sandals
- scissors
- ribbon, rope, yarn, hemp...
- matches






I will make this as simple as possible.

1. cut four pieces of ribbon the same lengths, you might want to tie it around your ankels to know how much you will need
2. use the matches to burn the cut edges. Do not light it on fire, just bring it close to the flame and it will melt the ribbon to prevent fraying.
3. tie one strip on each end of the sandal, I just used double knots, but you could also sew it on as well.
4. Done. LOVE.

Total time: about 5 minutes.

I think I am going to try to rig something up so I can have inter-changable laces in various colors, then it's only one pair of shoes, and 50cent ribbon... I love deals.

hmmm....

Did you ever notice....

• how when you are walking down the street and looking at people in their cars, that there is usually just one person per car?.... They sure are taking up a lot of space on the roads! (Especially those people who think Hummers are cool, who really needs that much room?)


• how in various places (eh, downtown) the bike lanes just end.... thowing bikers out to the vast sea of cars?

how many bikers are so "serious" in going fast and passing people? I have taken the cruise and burst out in song approach.

• how many people think that they can play their music as loud as they would like in their cars, thinking that it does not bother anyone. I think the only reason for that is they are protected from the outside world, so once foot is stepped into their safe-haven (car) they can do whatever the (blank) they want.





• how people will get so angry at cyclists while driving because it might add 5 seconds to their commute, because they might have to "pass with care" instead of slamming on the gass pedal and taking us out?


• how people on bikes are usually a lot less stressed? It's because we give ourselves plenty of time to get where we need to be. Unlike our car-culture where "I need to be from point A to B in the fastest time possible!"


• how cyclists obey traffic laws and usually tend to observe more around them then the caged in monkeys? (people in their tin cars, for those of you who didn't quite understand)

I think the weekend was a hit!


Oh, Jude... not my scotch.


On Saturday morning, after my glorious yoga class (of 24, packed house!) I return home to find Ben ready to go.... where you ask?

I guess.... Chanhassen. He made plans to meet our family (Brother, sister, sister-in-law, niece and nephew) at a little park out there. Big ride! Yes. I guess this will suffice as training for the trek we are going to take in a few weeks (from Fargo to his parents lake cabin ~ 50 miles or so).

We were against the wind the whole way there, but it did only take us about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (I was coasting most of the way behind Ben!)

It was a good time... we even built sand castles! And the way home we were with the wind, and I got up to 29 mph... pretty fast for me.




I saw a lot of friends this weekend... too bad I do not have pictures to prove it.

Friday I saw Lauren, Saturday my friend Rachel from Bismarck, and Sunday Ben and I had breakfast with Brenda (a friend from H.S.) and her fiance Bryan to talk about wedding subjects.

It was a great weekend spent outside. The rest of Sunday We spent at Lake Calhoun. And YES, we bring our cat and treat her like a dog. She loves it out there and even climbed a tree (on a leash of course!). She also got a lot of attention with other cat owners who want to do the same thing. I think maybe the small dogs are out, and bringing your cat is in... we will see if it catches on.

our sweet set up

It's not "that" kind of pole...









































































Success!