Workin It

Me and the Art in my Booth at the Art Fair

This past weekend was my second art show of the season, Boulder Open Studios Art Fair in Boulder, CO. An easy, small show to do with very little expense since it's local, just what the business plan ordered so to speak. The weather was great for the most part, started off chilly and cloudy and ended very warm and sunny. Many of my friends came by to say hi or help out, this made my days more enjoyable and less tedious than they can be. I made some solid sales for it being a small and new show in Boulder and now I can relax, focus on some other things, as my next show isn't until July and that one is local too. I'm feeling pretty good, though each night I was way tired from being on my feet and being mentally ON all day. I love to do my art, I appreciate that I have people who want to purchase my work even in these hard economic times, I send much gratitude to those people. Sometimes it's hard to part with certain pieces but in the end it's a good lesson in letting go and moving on.

Mother's Day at PW

Emma and Me on PW.

Mother's Day is a bittersweet day for me as all the good and wonderful memories I have of my Mom get mixed with how much I miss her. The bush I planted for her last summer has come back and is sprouting its little leaves and I placed a nice lump of good chocolate out for her, she loved sweets. The day was foggy, cool and wet but not actually raining so we decided to go for a long and lovely ride up at PW with Emma, Sam, Jimmijames and Randy. The trail was in ultra tacky condition which made for excellent traction but the rocks, which there are a lot of at PW, were sketchy and slippery, a good challange. There was a bit of snow on the ground on the upper western loop which was a little unreal since it's May already but it was a good time and nice to be out in the wet with some lovely friends, Emma was the token Mom today, but she got a hall pass to come out and play!

There was a little snow up there from overnight.

Spring

I could see on my NOBO ride today how all of the moisture we've gotten lately has made everything really green. Spring really feels like it's here, we're just getting rain now instead of snow and the trees and plants are really popping. The foothills are taking on their fluorescent green that they have this time of year before the summer heat turns them brown. Up at the house a bit higher in elevation the snow is all but gone, things are nice and tacky and the trees have their buds and the bulbs are pushing up. I've started to do some gardening, cutting things back, getting ready for new growth and planting of seeds. The hummingbirds are using the feeders and we have some chickadees nesting in one of our bird houses, I'm still waiting for the wrens to show up.

A small jump in the fantasy bike park

Our back yard bike park is ready to be ridden mostly, we have some new bridges to put into place but the snow is gone and the sun is hitting the yard until almost 7PM so that means warmth, the evenings and nights are still very cool. I think in another few weeks we'll have to have a BBQ, invite friends up for some riding from the house and then some play time in the fantasy bike park. My local backside trails should be mostly clear by now and I plan to start riding them regularly from the house in the afternoon, transitioning from lower rides to higher ones. This weekend even looks promising with no chance as of yet for wet weather, which means working out in the yard, being able to hang laundry on the line and getting some projects under way.

Acceptance

Artwork by Jenny Mendes

It being Spring and the end of the week it is now raining lightly again in Colorado where I'm at. One of those days that makes you want to curl up in bed with a book or good magazine and doze all day long. Then get up, put some comfy clothes on and make a yummy pot of leek and mushroom risotto, my all time comfort food. It's DF and GF, so it's easy on the tummy as well as the taste buds!
I've been thinking and working with one of my various challenges lately, Acceptance. My ability or lack of ability to accept things as they are now and get on with it, not always trying to fix or change the situation. It seems to me that once I accept things as they are, the resistance goes down and things tend to work out nicely. But acceptance isn't an easy thing for me sometimes. I'm not talking about accepting things that aren't good for you, things that are in your power to change for the better. I'm mostly talking about accepting those things or people that aren't in your control, not investing so much of my energy in things that really have nothing to do with me.

Photo by JenniPenni

My riding funk may be unwinding a bit for me, possibly because I'm accepting where I'm at right now in regard to physical and mental fitness. Accepting and not giving a damn (well, mostly not) if I don't clear something or if I'm slower, tired or whatever. This is what I've got to work with right now so how best can I do that so I'm not so damn hard on myself about silly things.
Did some great rides in the last week. Rode last Sunday with the Sports Garage Cycling Group, mainly because Jimijames was riding and invited us a long and we hadn't seen him in awhile and it was an earlier in the day ride meaning better weather. We rode from Heil to Lyons and back, about 20 miles. Then some Nobo riding with myself and then on Wednesday a ride with Emma, Jimijames and Sam. Emma is riding exceptionally fast these days, she's got some strong mojo right now, and it's all I can do to keep her in sight if that. Thursday I did my first ride with the BMA Gurlz ride at Hall, Hall two days in a row really works my legs. I'm not big on large group rides for various reasons but it was fun, especially since I was riding with some ladies I don't get to ride with too often, Kim, Jen, Tracy and Paige as well as Cynthia. I've been feeling a need to connect with women, strong women, to have that chemistry in my life that only women can create among themselves, talk about the stuff that guys just don't get nor probably never will. I've never been accused of being a girly girl but sometimes you just need the energy of you own kind. It's women thing, ya know.
They're calling for rain tomorrow, which will make being in the studio glazing easier, I have a lot to do in there with my upcoming show, Boulder Open Studios Art Fair, in Boulder on the 16th and 17th of May. Of course the rain will help all the plants grow that are in the yard, I bought my pansies the other day too, a tradition in my family of Spring.
Sunday I think a ride will be in order hopefully with some lovely friends.

Little A's

Aunt CiCi (that's me) and my favorite Big Little A.

As I write this it's snowing again lightly, our weekend weather has turned gloomy again after a warm and lovely week, it seems to be our schedule these days. While I'm getting a lot done around the house and in the studio my mind wanders to being outside in the sun. I'm ready to do some gardening, clean out the rubbish left over from winter, see the bulbs coming up and blooming and plant some pansies. I know this weather is going to make everything explode here very soon. I've even heard hummingbirds buzzing about above me, knowing their back makes me smile, I've put up the feeders.

Last weekend Craig and I flew to Virginia to visit my sister Karen and her family. We met our new niece Amelia and had some nice times hanging out together. Amelia pretty much eats, sleeps and cries with some very sweet cooing inbetween, she is a baby after all. I think I saw a few smiles on her while I was there. We also went by my Mom's house and did some sorting, brought back a few items, it's still incredibly hard to pull up to her house and not see her running out to greet us, I still expect that knowing full well that she's not there anymore. Her front yard is blooming with all the lovely flowers and trees she planted over the years.

Little A, Yummy Baby Dough.

Aaron with his Aunt's Big running shoes on. I love hanging out with this little guy, he's so cool!

Lacing Up.

Not Feeling It

Photo credit, Kim Luks

I haven't been feeling my regular riding stoke lately, the spark I normally have when I'm on my bike seems to be a bit faded. It makes me sit back, kinda stunned and thinking what's wrong with me, this doesn't happen with my bike riding, my one release, something I love to do. My friends, I don't mean to be a whiney b*tch on my blog, but it is my blog and it reflects where I'm at in the world at any given time, super stoked or not so much.

So I made a mental list of possibilities that might be affecting my mojo in regard to riding and this is what I came up with.

• Weather. It's been pretty crazy weather since we got back from Arizona, with rain, lots of snow at the house and wet trails. I haven't been able to ride much other than the easy trails out in Nobo which help with fitness a bit but not much else, borinnggg.

• Injuries. I injured my rotator cuff about 6 weeks ago and it's a delicate recovery that is taking a long while, perhaps the rest of the summer I'm thinking. I also took a good fall in Arizona that wrecked my confidence a bit, something I have to get over, but something I think about in relation to my fork confusion. I need to learn my limitations at any given time, but also push myself, balance.

• Winter Riding. It's been a full winter riding season, not really taking any time off the bike this year may have a role to play here. As well as my current routine of squats and lunges and some running, leading to leg fatigue while pedaling, legs that feel like lead weights sometimes.
  

• Stress/Money. I've been feeling more stress than I would like to lately. My personal relationships seem to be out of sorts lately leaving me filled with confusion, enui and nervousness. Money, there's not enough of it these days, this is a stress as well, I want to simplify my life but no matter how many corners I cut there are more corners coming at me. Craig too is under a lot of stress currently with his new work situation and of course it filters into my mind and body as well.

• My Talas Fork. I'm at odds with the damn thing, yet another confusing relationship that I can't seem to find a balance with and everytime I ride my bike I'm thinking and critiqing how it works. I'm pretty close to just putting my Vanilla back on.
  

• BBQ. I want to organize a ride/session/BBQ event at the house in May. Invite a bunch of people up, go for a good ride from the house, play around on the stunts out back, eat, drink and just simply enjoy being outside and with friends. This will get my stoke going!
  

High Clouds

Artork by Betsy Walton

It seems to me that the sun hasn't been out in full force in general lately. High, thin clouds seem to filter the sunlight into more of a washed out grayish warmth, the sun's energy never reaching it's full potential. It's like that these days.
I've been riding what dry trails I can find and delving into other training practices like way to many ball crunches, the kind that you do with your abdomen on a rubber ball. And many more squats and lunges as well, I miss working my upper body but my shoulder is not healed well enough for any lifting, it will have to wait.

I broke down and bought a new pair of baggies, Fox Venus shorts, ok it wasn't that hard for me to buy a new pair of shorts I am female after all, just hard to pay so much for them. They're remarkably long enough, come down over my pads and designed to be durable, not like your typical women's short. I would have gone with Sombrio again but Fox promised a removable liner which I needed. I'm pretty happy with these shorts so far, I think they look rad and they will ride well and be great for summer. They have all the same features a guy's short would have but for a women's body, maybe the bike industry is starting to take us seriously.
I'm also doing a wonderful trade with a massage therapist, Temple. She is getting one of my sculptures and I'm getting a few massages and it's just perfect timing. I love body work.
This Friday we leave on a trip/flight to Virginia to visit my sister and her family including her new born girl Amelia. It will be nice to fall into the warmth of family for a few days and help my sister a little too. And perhaps when I return these high clouds will have moved on.