Saturday was the big day ..

It had been years since a bike accident on her trike left her fearful of ever riding again. The Cowboy and I have been encouraging her to give it another go.  We got her a bike earlier this spring at the house in South Dakota she started to re-learn on.  But we’ve hardly been back this summer to keep going with it.

“I want a red bike for my birthday,” she told me this year.

Finally re-learning to ride!

I found the most awesome fit – a block away earlier this summer at a yard sale.  Her birthday present from us this year.  And we had been working up to this moment for weeks.  Saturday, she emotionally, was finally ready.

Even the dog is celebrating!

And she rode.

Comparing notes at the end of a long day for us both Friday ..

I said .. “I had a first tonight”.

On a rare occasion someone asks for an autograph.  Always stuns me someone would want it.  And, on a piece of paper is one thing.  That’s easy to throw away when you look back and think, why did I get this again?

Guy told me he lost it years ago in a wood chipper.

The Cowboy laughs and says to me, “I had a bizarre day too.  I had a customer ask me to take care of her horses and I told her I had time today.  While she was at work and couldn’t be there, she said she’d call her daughter and let her know I would be coming and that she would be home.  When I pulled in the drive .. the daughter was laying out in the sun topless.  And she didn’t seem to mind that I was there.  I didn’t know what to do so I sat in the truck for awhile until she got up and put her top on.”

No photos of that one.

Urban cowgirl.

Usually once a week, we pick a night to go out if possible, just the two of us for a bite to eat.  During the summer it is often a Friday night fish fry when we can under the tent or in the Stable House at Quivey’s.  But another place we love to frequent ..

Artists at work.  A favorite.

There are many children already back at their desks .. reconnecting with old friends .. decorating their lockers and thumbing through new textbooks ..

Our first day back to school will soon be here.

Thursday – registration day. New school. New teachers, hallways, school pic and locker.

One right, two back left, one right. Right?

“If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting but I would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything.” ~ Allyson Jones

Some meetings are over coffee.

Others .. not so much.

It was already a long week and it had hardly started when a girlfriend I haven’t seen all summer called and said, “I’m back in town.  Can we meet quick to catch up?”

Pasquals.

“Yes.  Yes, I would really like that,” I replied.

Many of us meet often, “over coffee” ..

For me, used to be meetings over pastries as well, until I looked at why I happened to be gaining weight even though I would eat healthy otherwise all day.  Besides a scone.  Or a morning bun.  36g fat often per scone.  Found my answer.  But can’t stay away from the places.

La Brioche, where just one meeting was held this week, is a favorite ..

Great atmosphere.  Great location.  Wonderful menu with a lot of healthy options.  Or .. if you prefer, as I often do, to sneak in a sinful treat …. the selection is wonderful.  Been sneaking one of these on occasion since I was a kid and Ovens of Brittany made these a household name.

There are a lot of folks that when they hear the pitter patter of raindrops or hear the roar of thunder .. they prefer to stay inside.  Dry.  Out of harms way.

I on the other hand ..
.. (as long as it appears all is safe), love to lace up the running shoes and hit the road.

These are my favorite days for a run.  Rain falling on my face.  Water splashing the back of my legs with each stride.  Puddles to run through.  For some reason, that combined with how quiet it usually is because few others are out .. offers me a state of meditation, of exertion and of feeling grounded and refreshed in a way few other things do.

Not the best pics for posting.

But was happy to have just gotten in a run that morning, the dog running circles around me on her leash, I didn’t want to get the phone wet and I apparently due to most of that, didn’t care they weren’t artsy and slightly out of focus.  🙂

There was plenty of corn to go around last weekend at the Sun Prairie Corn Festival despite concerns over this year’s crop..

It was all being served up along with a little music ..

(The band played to a nice crowd at the VFW pavilion Sunday.)

A little rain .. 

A little Zoe.