Bill and I went for a bike ride this evening. Normally we ride on Sundays, but I’m trying to adjust our schedule so that Sundays can be more of a go to breakfast and the farmer’s market and relax kind of a day. Not that biking isn’t relaxing, but it is exercise and so is a little bit like work. Plus, we need to have a free morning so that we can go to breakfast! Yum!

I’ve been walking the last two days and was not up for it this morning. I needed to do something different and asked Bill if he’d be up for a ride after work. As usual, he was game.

It was a very nice ride. It’s been in the 70s and gorgeous. The trail wasn’t too crowded. There were commuters as we expected, and it was nice to see families out and about.

Of course bike riding requires us to make numerous Tour de France jokes. At one point we were going up a small incline and Bill “sprinted” past me. Our conversation went like this:

B: I was going for the stage win.
M: Oh. I thought you were going for the sprint bonus points.
B: I do have more of a body of a sprinter than a climber.
M: Should I call you the God of Thunder?*
B: Only after I have beans.

*The God of Thunder is the nickname of Thor Hushovd, winner of the green jersey and best sprinter in this Tour.

Bill cracks me up.

The other highlights of my day involved my striped scarf and rearranging furniture. We have an extra desk that we’ve tried to sell on Craig’s list but have not had any takers. As it turns out, this is a good thing because I am rearranging the office area and I think the other desk will work better. I am going to use the desk that is there as my sewing table and my current sewing table is going to become my cutting table and my cutting table is going to be taken apart and stored in the garage and we will have a big net gain of space. Yay. We moved that furniture around but I still have to put the rooms back together. Photos after I get that done.

And then there’s my Noro striped scarf. Or, as I like to think of it, the explanation for why I typically have multiple projects going. Because it’s tedious. I thought I was at the halfway point yesterday. I had just a little bit of yarn left and it took me hours to get through that little bit. Ugh. But now I am past the halfway point and should be able to coast to the finish line. (still have bikes on the brain). This pattern is a vehicle to show off the yarn (Noro’s silk garden). I don’t think mine is as striking as some of the others that have been done, but I think it’s still pretty and it’s all because of the yarn. I originally started knitting this as a Christmas gift for my grandmother, but I think I am going to keep it. I need another scarf like I need a hole in my head but I think it will look great with this cute pink coat that I have. Instead, I am going to knit my grandmother a scarf out of this Manos, which I actually think will be better for Chicago and is softer.

Yep, I’m already thinking about Christmas. I’m trying to get a head start on things while I have time. Plus, it is going to be another Handmade Holidays (ie a lot of gifts will be handmade) and that always takes time and planning. I do not want to be as stressed as I was leading up to last Christmas. We’ll see how it works out.

And that’s all I got. But I think it’s enough for now.