Saturday, July 31, 2010

Squid on Wheels: Guess our Mileage!

After taking a brief hiatus last year, the Squid on Wheels mileage contest is back!

Guess how many miles Squid on Wheels will ride for the period encompassing January 1, 2010 through October 31, 2010. Any mileage accumulated after October 31 will count in our totals but will not count for contest purposes. (We figure that the riding season (for the kids) really ends once outdoor temperatures stay below 60 degrees.)

Closest guess will get a package of goodies tailored specifically toward that person.

So far this year we have ridden 507 miles as a family. (The term family is defined as at least one adult and both kids on the counted ride -- the adults do far more mileage just commuting to work.) There are some Squidette-alone and Little Squid-alone miles that will be mashed together and added in once school begins.
Entries are due August 30 which means that you will really only have to guess our September and October mileage. Feel free to submit initial guesses and change them any time up until the deadline. I'm curious as to what people think we can do.

Starting tomorrow, I will post whenever we ride and what the mileage is so you can keep track if you so wish. We have some nice rides planned for the month of August so if you want to stay up to date, check back frequently. There will, hopefully, be lots of small posts with pictures from interesting locations sent from my phone. I will only post the mileage once a day though there may be several blog entries in a day. (Now you kind of know the reason for all the test posts over the last month.) Those of you who are Facebook friends will see different pictures and updates since posting the same picture to both is kind of silly.

Anyone wanting a slightly different take on these rides can check out Mike's blog.

Now to just decide what knitting to take on all these rides ...

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Super Mommy Strikes Again

When in doubt, take a step back, give up for a little while and then try again. Me.

That's kind of been one of my mottos for a while now but tonight proved the rule.

Little Squid has been frustrated by how quickly his bike GPS eats batteries. Basically, he has to replace them (rechargeables) before every ride or risk the gadget losing power before the end of the day. He's also been a little peeved that we always go with the mileage that Squidette has on her bike computer instead of what the rest of us display on our GPSs. So, to avoid the inevitable frustration on our upcoming bike trip, we offered to get him a bike computer just like Squidette. Less technology for our techo-geek but hopefully greater accuracy. He readily agreed and we ordered post-haste.

It arrived last night but we put off the installation until this evening, guaranteeing that we'd be under pressure to have it working by tomorrow's ride.

Mike futzed with it for about half an hour, then I joined him for another half hour.

Finally, I suggested that we just pack up the blasted thing and return it and go to our local bike shop, get what they suggested and have them install it.

Then I took a break.

And then I tried again.

And got it on the first shot.

I'm feeling a little smug right now ... where's the anvil that's about to fall on my head?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Yet another test



Picture of shawl taken at the airport.

Feathers

Feathers are apparently the item of choice when out comes to wiping out an oboe.

Yesterday, my very talented son managed to get his feather stuck inside the top of his oboe.  Tightly.

It took the power of a mother, who knows that her son absolutely needs his oboe for camp, to get enough of the feather out of the oboe so that the job could be finished.  Imagine, if you will, Mike pulling the feather with a pair of pliers while I hung on to the oboe for dear life.  We totally awed his teacher, who was convinced that we'd have to take out for repairs.

This morning I causally mentioned that little squid would need a new feather.  No, I was told, his instructor gave him A new one.

This post is being written from the garden of the Manhattan School of Music where I wait for little squid to get out of camp.  On my way here I saw no fewer than six feathers scattered across the bike path.

A sign?

Yet another test


Picture is my mom, my new nephew, my younger sister and my brother's cat




--
http://www.squid-knits.blogspot.com

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Mobile blogging once again

So my last attempt at mobile blogging was an epic failure. Now I'm trying it again using the real interface but on my new phone. I think it may work. That said, expect my posts to be a bit shorter and more error prone when I post things way. Proofing is not easy on the small screen. And, I'm trying to figure out how to add pictures.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

I Stole My Own Car

The day started out like any other rainy July day. I assessed the weather and decided that making Little Squid ride his bike to camp in the rain was just cruel. And, as I was in "nice mommy" mode, I decided to drive him instead of making him take the subway.

Grabbing my keys from the hook by the door, I quickly determined that there were two sets of keys attached and, that the second set MUST be my car keys.

And so it starts ...

We get to the car and I realize that the second set of keys on my ring are the keys to our bike locks, not the car. (Just goes to show how often I've driven since school let out.)

Not really wanting to go back to the apartment, I borrowed the keys that our parking lot keeps on file, promising to return them when I returned.

An uneventful trip to camp ensues and, having dropped off Little Squid, I head over to my school's summer school site to do some work. A few blocks later, my phone rings. Good, lawabiding citizen that I am, I wait until I am stopped at a light to dig it out and answer it.

It's LoJack. Telling me that my car is being moved without my authorization.

Then I see a missed call from Mike indicating that he also got the alert.

And I just start laughing! (Then I text Mike to let him know that I am actually in the car.)

(The battery in the fob on the parking attendant's set of keys had died. We knew it was old and I was intending to replace it this week after having already replaced the batteries in our sets. I've have now replaced the battery so if LoJack calls again, we'll know the car is really being stolen. Maybe.)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

in the Boston airport, waiting, as I am for her flight. Back to knitting. Pictures to follow as I figure out this phone.
This is a first, blogging from an airport. I'm heading to Pittsburgh for my nephew's bris. My kid sister is already there and my older sister is sitting

Friday, July 02, 2010

Unwinding ... yeah, right!

I have a small problem. I can't wind down.

The last few weeks of work each spring are like a whirlwind. I get to work really early and leave no earlier than usual -- often working 10-12 hour days.

By the time I get to July 1, the official start of my summer vacation, I am so used to running on the proverbial treadmill that I can't get off.

That tends to translate into frantic cleaning of the apartment. And by cleaning, I mean scrubbing, not just straightening.

Today, for example, I got up, read my email, played some Farmville and then bleached and scrubbed all the painted surfaces in the bathroom.

Then, after waiting for the bleach smell to wear off, scraped and spackled. Took a walk with the family and picked up some supplies for my new watering system for the terrace.

Now I'm waiting for the primer to dry so I can paint it ...

I should be weaving but the loom is kind of blocked in with all the stuff that came out of the bathroom ...

I could sit and read a book ...

but I can't sit still for more than a few minutes at a time ... I think I'll set up the watering system.

(oh, and I might have done some work type work while waiting for the primer to dry ...)