"Or wait before deciding to be friendly..."

Hey people. Today's music find is one of my very favorite songs and I can guarantee two things: You probably have never heard it. And it will make you smile. If it doesn't you get triple your money back, so don't be a weenie-- just play the vid.

I love the part where they crack-up, and where he just can't help himself and has to break into singing again. I'd recommend not watching the whole vid, but just listening. Otherwise you risk wiener dog vertigo.

Here's Etiquette by Daniel Johnston. Take a listen.



Isn't that great? Doesn't it make you in good mood? Cool. Today is a good mood day around here. the show opens today and there's a little party me and buddy & fellow artist Linda are going to. I'm going to girl it up and actually wear a dress. This is some of my stuff set up outside the venue.

It's at this cool hobby farm owned by a former NFL player. the shop is in an old barn and stuffed with cool furniture and antiques, and now, artwork for the weekend anyway. They have a bunch of animals. I couldn't resist the peacock and neither could Linda.

I stuck with the "having fun with it" theme when it came time to tag all my stuff too. yesterday was so nice out I just hung out in my bikini and shorts and made smart-alecky tags and loaded my trailer in the sun.

I seriously hope no one gets smashed by my chairs. They are a cool sitable design- one of the first things I made EVER, from back before I started doing art and was going to design furniture. I had some big guy sit in them and bounce around to test, but they are kind of scary. You never know.

Another piece of advice I can give you is even if it is just really quick and small, it's really never a good idea to weld in a bikini and flip flops. OSHA does not approve. No big damage though. :)

Have a great weekend and come back Monday for my birthday post / comment area party. You're all invited. :)

A Slightly Less Weird Than Usual Wed, Or Not...

I know, I know. You like to get your weird on people. What can I say? It's a very busy week. It's a shortie and I have that show that starts Fri. You'll have to settle for this:

Here, have a chicken. It's kind of a weird one.

Also behold what the latest fridge clean out produced-- twelve year old mustard! Twelve! That means in our last move we actually packed and moved ten year old mustard. This mustard has outlasted a lot of relationships. Scary or touching?-- you decide.

In other SueNews:

I've been in welding mode getting ready for the show. You've seen the flowers I've been working on. I got tired of those and began making gates out of old screens. I like them so far. The first one has some secret bonus welding on it no one will probably notice.

Here's how it came out. I likey. The next one is going to have more details to the outside frame, kind of architectural prairie touches, and more perched birds, a different style/color than these, and maybe a cat.

I'm kind of having fun with getting ready for this show. It was so last minute, I knew I didn't have time to prepare the way I usually do. Plus, sales have been so down I'm going in with super low expectations, so the fun factor is my main motivator.

Here is the bio I provided:

Sue was raised in the Amazon rain forest by a tribe of scantily clad indigenous people who found her, mysteriously, as a baby, in the company of a family of Slow Loris’s completely healthy and unharmed. This was particularly puzzling because Slow Loris’s are normally found in Southeast Asia. Curious no?
After a series of humorous and at times perilous misadventures, she grew up and found herself living in MN creating metal artwork. When not making art she’s usually trying to learn to pop wheelies, looking for other goofball adventurers to hang out with, and coming up with T-shirt slogans.
Her latest brainstorm is, “Art = Fun To Do, Boring To Talk About.”

None of the above is actually true… Okay, some of it is. Maybe.

These things are usually chock full of educational details and list various awards etc, and sometimes go into how the person started doing art or where they get their inspiration. I was going to just write, "Look at my stuff. If you like it, buy it. The end." but decided to amuse myself.

On an unrelated note:
Dan and I have reached a stalemate on the big "do apples suck or not" controversy of 2009. I say suck, he likes. My reasons: When you bite into them it feels like they're going to yank your teeth out. Then juice usually dribbles messily and annoyingly down your chin. And they're kind of sour, so the pay-off just isn't there for me.

Dan said, "but they're great with caramel on them, or brown sugar." I argued almost anything would be. That's like saying brussel sprouts are ok with a bunch of sauce and cheese on them. He said, "You can cut them up." Why would I trouble myself? They're not that good.

I think I won don't you people? We still bought three apple trees.
==
And another unrelated item:
I'm getting back to writing. The other day I was minding my own business and suddenly was eavesdropping on an argument a couple of characters were having, so, they're back. Now when I run instead of just thinking "doo dee dumm dee doo" or whatever to the music, or-- one of my favorites-- "what would I do if a creepy perv jumped me right now?" -- where I run through a series of imaginary ass kicking moves that end with me taking the perpetrators wallet--

(Guys don't think this way because they aren't prey animals, but we (girls) do- or should anyway. My sister and I used to play this all the time, talking about how you could crack someone over the head with the toilet tank cover, and keeping a lighter and hairspray can in the bathroom to use as an instant blowtorch.) (Hmmm. I guess this did turn out to be kind of weird after all.)

--I've been thinking about plot twists and my new character and brain injuries. I'm anxious to get back to my story, which is almost done-- except for a ton of revising. I have a couple ideas for art stuff too, which is good because I still have to bring stuff to Door County & Stockholm this season. Better late than never.

Ok-- off to work. Stay weird.

Yay- I have a boyfriend

And he's my husband! "What?!" Let me explain:

Dan and I are known for having this kind of perfect relationship, kind of sickeningly so, as some of you keep telling me. We are on the same page with all the big stuff, and look out for each other, and really are friends too, and we both know we are lucky and appreciate our lives. BUT...

There's been a bit of drifting going on over the last year or so. Drifting we didn't really notice at first.

Dan could care less about my writing-- which, when I'm going full tilt at, is consuming in a way only an addict could probably understand. That's OK. It's my thing. He also isn't into art beyond wanting me to be working at it and asking when another check is coming. That's OK. I'm really not that into injection molding (his job) either, so...

But Dan is a really hard worker, and he loves our place, which we moved to a couple years ago. Any homeowner knows, you never run out of work and projects to do around a house, and Dan seems to kind of dig that. I, on the other hand, am a really hard player. I'm always trying new things and fighting boredom. I plan on living super long, but your time can be up at any moment, and I don't want to have wasted mine doing menial tasks that mean nothing to me. Suddenly without realizing it, we'd quit hanging out together, even though we were living right under the same roof and weren't mad at each other.

Despite having a number of other connections, I felt lonely. I was making a lot of writer buds online to talk about that stuff with. Trusty Pam is willing to do all the darey, boredom fighting stuff with me or else I just go by myself. I'm lucky to have some really good friends who are artists and designers too, so can talk about all that with them (except art etc isn't really that thrilling to talk about so mostly we just screw around and have fun). And Dan was in his own orbit working on all the innumerable projects around the house, mostly by himself.

I've been getting weird vibes from him. I've been asking him if anything is wrong. He's been saying no, no, and no. (You have to ask a bunch of times.) Finally the other night he piped-up. We'd drifted apart and he didn't like it. We'd drifted apart and I didn't like it either.

We stayed up late into the night talking about stuff that bugged him, stuff I could have gotten all defensive about, but I know Dan enough to know if he says anything, it's something important to him, and I need to hear it. Then I told him how I felt. He listened even when I had a hard time explaining myself. He doesn't demand that all my jumbled feelings make total sense. He knows even if I can't speak them they're real and important.

We made an agreement to be more of a unit again and split up the work/play time more evenly and spend more of it together. "Us" is the most important thing in our lives.

So we worked on the roof together most of the weekend, and yesterday when it got nice out he wrapped it up and we went for a paddle on the river. We kayaked as far as we could up river, until there were rapids that were impassible, then floated down for a while, drifting and eating the cookies I brought with.

There is a flywheel inside me that is always spinning. I need to move to get rid of the pent-up energy. It relaxes me. Usually going slow, or just "relaxing" is strangely anxiety producing for me. Dan positioned our kayaks so we were facing each other and we quit paddling and just looked at each other and the beautiful day and let the current carry us downstream. And the flywheel slowed way down. I was calm. I relaxed, leaning back and letting my legs dangle over the side. It was great, like a big sigh just when you need it.

Dan is the only one who affects me like this. He's the SueWhisperer I guess. After, we both felt like we were back, and glad we did the hard work of talking it all through until we were both satisfied.

Relationships are like a little fire you have to keep tending I guess.

Hey Summer, Been A While. You Look Great!

Perfect song to welcome back summer-- Soak Up the Sun. One of the best lyric lines ever- "it's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you got." Feel that one people?

Enjoy this vid- Chix surfing and cliff diving and having fun in the sun. Brings back memories of Hawaii. Enjoy.



I actually did jump off like, a three story cliff in Hawaii. I'm afraid of heights so it was really quite darey of me. (pats self on back) I did not want to be the only one who wussed-out. Some guy said, "Just step off. Once you do that you can't change you mind." So I did.

I had time to scream my lungs inside out and still take another big breath and scream some more before I hit the water. I'm probably the only one in history to mess up jumping off a cliff, but somehow I turned kind of sideways midair and did a Raggedy Anne half cannon ball, half side-flop into the ocean. It was LOUD. As I furiously struggled to retrieve my swimsuit underwater, which had gone internal on impact, I could hear the crowd above groaning sympathetically. When I finally came back to the surface dan goes, "You're supposed to keep your legs straight." Thanks honey, for the timely advice. My whole side was black and blue the rest of the trip. Still glad I didn't wuss-out though.

Surfing went much better, and I'm SUPER glad I tried that. Very cool.

In other SueNews:

Get out your tinfoil beanies people. You may need protection from my explodo rays. Suddenly everyone is driving bad and being extra douchebaggy explicitly to piss me off, and everything from flying insects to jars with too tight lids are totally incurring my wrath. Something will probably have to be destroyed. Don't say I didn't warn you general public.

This should pass in a few days. Then it will be "safe" again. I know what you're thinking. Don't worry. Years of training have prepared Dan for such times and, much like people who work with ferocious wild animals, he's learned how to move slowly and talk to me in a calming voice, thus evading the deadly explodo rays.

Also:

It will surprise none of you who've been following me for very long that I'm now totally effing sick and tired of making gardeny flowers. This is still a cool idea, but I'm already over it. Like most things, if you are into these, get 'em while they're hot, because there won't be too many of them.

I swear, I could figure out a way to make gold bricks, like, actual ones I could sell for big bucks, and after a week I'd be like, "These stupid gold bricks. I never want to see another gold effing brick again in my life!"

I'm going to move on today and make whole gates out of the cool screens I picked up at the second hand shop, and after that, something else. Gates will be ovah.

Since I probably won't post again until Tues I'll give you a mountain biking update too. Wow. What a value added post. You people are so lucky.

Trusty Pam has been especially amusing this week with her antics over at the trail. If a movie is ever made of her life, I feel sorry for the stunt person is all I can say. The mountain biking is going good. We both have been practicing wheelies and are getting better at them (some as huge as four or five inches!!) (Yes, that was sarcasm.) But we still haven't figured out the magic balancing formula. Our weight is still too much on the front end to do really good ones. We'll keep working at it.

I'm faster so far on the trail, but as always, Pam has more spectacular "incidents". The other day she was riding in front of me when all of a sudden she was at a dead stop. I skidded to a halt behind her to find her foot stuck in the end of a hollow log. Don't ask me how she managed this in a split second, but she did, and her bike took some weird little hop and was hung up on a branch so she was completely stuck and couldn't escape. I had to help her get unstuck.

Then yesterday she was trying to ride up this really super steep incline right at the beginning. It's an option. I don't ride that particular entry point because, hello- it's super dooper steep, and I know I'm too wussy so far. Pam, not to be deterred, goes for it, and runs out of gas almost at the top. I hear her go, "oh crap." and look up to see her going over totally backwards on her bike. Her and the bike kind of cartwheeled down the embankment and landed in a heap at the bottom. Very spectacular.

I would have probably started crying and gone home but she dusted herself off and we resumed our ride, maybe a little more cautiously than initially planned, but we rode. She is so bad-ass. (Extra bonus dareyness points to you T Pam!)

Have a good weekend people. Drive safe.

Weirdness Abounds In Buffalo MN

When "Little Mister Sunshine" greeted me at Second Hand Rose a couple weeks ago I knew, once again, Buffalo would offer up an endless bounty of disturbia.

No pants. Really? Really Little Mister Sunshine?

Little Sally finds science deeply disturbing.

Their parents desperately hoped the girls would one day grow into their ears, and bizarre man-necks. the girls, for their part, hoped their mom would quite making them wear off-the-shoulder, puff-sleeved Little-Bo-Peep dresses.

Psychotically Raggedy Anne.

Mattel's "Reform School Jimmy" doll was a total flop, but then again, what did they expect?
The bed wetting, the cruelty to animals...

Donald Trump's mom.

Even if the doctors one day discover a cure for tinyhand, there's still the whole "momma dressing him as a girl" thing to overcome. Stacked deck.

So that's what became of old Brownie.
(This was so unbelievably gross you guys...)

It's like I keep telling people. Not all babies are cute.

Oh good, another disembodied head. Can never have too many of those.

Keep it weird people. Have a good day.

Me

Hey people. It's a little rainy and gloomy this morning and I'm a little tired to jump right into rocking-out. Lately I've had a few conversations with friends about brains- brain chemistry actually, and patterns of behavior, and being our own worst enemies.

Sometimes we are, and sometimes we have to just give ourselves a hug and say, "Oh honey- it's gonna be okay," and love ourselves and our messy lives despite everything. It is a pretty amazing experience after all-- living in these bodies in this world.

Enjoy on of my very favorite songs, "Me" by Paula Cole.



In other SueNews:

I'm plotting and strategizing for the Minneapolis Urban Assault Ride at the end of Sept. Check out THESE PICS from the St. Louis version. I think Trusty Pam and I are in for a nutty time. Finally something is happening that is as wild and weird as I always wish things were. I'm kind of nervous about riding in city traffic, but it will be a Sunday morning, so probably not too bad. Looking at tons of maps and planning our course.

Mountain biking is going good. I've been riding alone all week because Pam has been tied-up (See? Really-- no one else will play with me. Tragic isn't it?) I started timing myself. Yes I'm kind of competitive-- even though I suck. I can ride the whole trail in an hour- but can't actually RIDE everything. There are parts where I have to get off and run the bike. The stuff I can ride though I'm trying to go fast and really ride the crap out of. I'm also getting a tiny bit better each time, figuring out how to get through the challenging stuff. Eventually I'd like to be able to ride the whole thing-- something I've never said before thinking it was impossible. It still might be, but I'm willing to contemplate becoming good enough eventually.

The quality of the fun is different now. I used to feel like a little kid zooming down the hills yelling "Weee!" etc. Now I'm back to flying down most of them without brakes, and it's fun, but now it's tinted with knowing what can go wrong. It's a little more of a grown-up thrill I guess.

This all goes back to the brain conversations I had with a good friend earlier in the week. I know all this physical activity is my "meds", and all the thrilly nutty stuff does something for me too, like a fix. I've always called stuff like that an energy buzz. It's just how I navigate my life, along with forging relationships and being creative.

What's the juice that keeps you going?

Blog Round-up

Hey guys. Not much of a post today because all my blogging time was sucked-up by reorganizing my blogroll (on the right below all the subscribe & contact stuff). Check them out and be sure to let me know of any I missed or should look at.

One new link in "Time-Suck Central" is to TED talks. If you're not familiar with these you really need to check out. Amazing speakers on innumerable topics. A great way to spend a lunch hour expanding your mind, getting inspired, maybe even having a laugh.

I feel like there are some peeps I've overlooked so pipe up if you're one of them please. :)

Tomorrow is Weird Wed so come back for some more Buffalo Distrubia pics.
See ya-- the welder awaits.

Training Wheels

Hey people. Hope you had a good weekend. I worked Sat, played Sun. My play day began with a little mountain biking (after our now customary Sunday morning waffles), and while I was over at the trail I ran into CoolTrailBossRich who gave me a few pointers and a small wheelie lesson.

I'm not sure if he's part of his bike or his bike is part of him, but- it's all attached people. The guy was riding down the twisty hilly mountain bike trail on only his back tire. No boring little swoopy curves for him either, the back tire would have to kick up or some other spectacular stunt would be performed as if "no big deal". Needless to say I was in total awe of the super star antics.

When it came to wheelie demo time- it was completely embarrassing because about all I could do was ride around making this "oh crap" face, too afraid to even try it. Dareyness FAIL!

When I got home though, I rode around in my yard/driveway practicing more, while my husband & his brother laughed from the rooftop. Eventually Trusty Pam showed up (we went kayaking with another gal-- fun) and snapped a few pics of all this extreme biking action.


Yes, that was sarcasm people. You can hardly tell in the above photo but my wheel is nearly a whole 2" off the ground. I'm hopping it over these tiny twigs I laid out there. In my defense, Pam didn't have much more luck. I'm glad she took the pic though, because I can see one major problem already-- my butt is way too far forward. I need to quit being such a 'fraidy and get that thing back there behind the seat. Oh well. Have to start somewhere.


Too bad the wheels were cut off in this shot because I was totally doing it here-- riding along with my front tire like a whole foot off the ground! OK- not really. But someday-- I'll at least be able to do a small wheelie. I'm going to keep practicing. My ultimate goal would be to be able to do one as I ride along like a superstar, but... well... We'll see on that one.
(Look how nice my Chucks look with Penny though!)

In other SueNews:

I am going to be in this show in a couple of weeks, so I am totally cranking on that garden gate stuff.

Haven't quite figured out the formula with pricing yet where I make better than third world wages. For now I'm comforting myself with the fact that I don't actually have to live in mainland China, and can take off to ride my bike or whatever pretty much when I want. I also have snacks on hand, and good music, and am surrounded by pretty woods. Plus my boss is super cool. ;D So, crappy paying job, but all in all not a bad one. For now.

When In Doubt-- Just Shake It

Hey people. Dan is busy right now literally putting a roof over our heads. Time to re-shingle. When I got back from my bike ride last night he did this-- (insert laughter in a booming giant voice.)

Of course this cracked me up, and of course when I returned with the camera a second later he further humored me by doing it again- even stomping around and waving the shovel over his head like a maniac. Yes, we're easily entertained.

Been a little negative the last couple of days for no good reason. Feeling like a bit of a square peg I guess, but- hey- it is what it is. I like doing all the stuff I do, even if I'm not super good at it. I'll just keep learning and improving and trying to hook up with other goofballs to hang out with.

I guess I'm an inbetweener. The super intense adrenaline junkies are all dudes, and too danger prone for me, and most women my age just aren't that into doing anything darey at all. I decided all I can do about that is keep doing my thing my way, and give everyone I run into a big grin and try to shoot positive vibes at them. Good energy people. Shoot enough of it out there and it's bound to come back to you at some point.

On that note, check out today's Fav Music Fri pic. This is a super upbeat, fun song and if it doesn't get you shaking something-- there is something WRONG with you.



That's about it people. Today I'm working on fun flowers and gardeny stuff. I'm in that show in a couple of weeks so look for an update on that soon. Hopefully Dan will entertain me with more of his antics today. :D

Have a good weekend people.

New Mode

Hey people. The shop has been transformed into gate bling central. I can feel the potential of this idea. It's different from other art I've worked on recently. It has more of a "product development" feel than a "things burbling up from my subconscious" feel. That's OK. We can go that direction. The other stuff will burble up when it's ready.

Here's the game plan: 3 sizes of flowers, 4 heights of rods, 4 styles of flowers, and also, birds, butterflies, words, and pot/planter racks.

I think this will give me a good, appealing variety for people to choose from, and spread the retail price to cover the loss leaders.

Weird, feel like I'm back in retail mgmt/merchandising mode. Oh well. Like I said, we can do that too. I might be in a show in a couple of weeks to give these a little trial run. We'll see. Don't have deets yet.

In other SueNews:

I am apparently made of fail. I don't think going over that jump in a couple of weeks is realistic for me anymore. I guess my new goal will be to learn how to pop a wheelie. That's still cool right? Also- this is how lame I am- I want to learn how to do a headstand.

Yup. Those standing-on-your-head deals most first graders can do? -- never been able to. When I go upside-down I lose all sense of direction/orientation and just crumple. NASA was so super disappointed when they found out about this. That and the whole math thing pretty much killed their dreams of me entering their space program.

Yesterday I decided to time myself running against some race results from last year over at the trail. Boy, do I suuuu-huuuck.

I've been running all over over there thinking I was getting pretty good- not taking walk breaks anymore, going farther, and getting faster. Apparently I'm only OK at running compared to couch potatoes who do nothing at all. Now of course I have to begin "training". For what? Oh nothing. I just can't bear how much I apparently suck.

Suddenly I feel really inadequate, despite all the new stuff I'm trying out. Part of me feels ridiculous, like, who do I think I am thinking I can get good at any of this stuff this late in the game? The rational part just says, "Quit taking yourself so seriously, and shut up, and have fun." Good advice rational part. I'll listen to you I guess. Today is just one of those days.

This is just so wrong...

Hey people. It's weird Wed again so saddle-up. Intrepid Slagporter Beth has been at it again and unearthed this:

I don't even know where to begin. Ignoring the obvious for a moment, consider the whole new level of weirdness achieved by the underlying concept of the costumes. It's like if gorillas decided to dress up in gorilla suits. Once I wanted to dress my white dog up as a brown dog for Halloween, like that's how far a dog's imagination would go in the costume department, but I didn't want to dye my dog.

There's also the layering. These people have unwittingly made a clothing sandwich-- nekkidness, a layer (supposedly) of clothing, then more nekkidness. And they included body hair people. Just actually shivered. Heebies with a side of jeebies.

It's from this website, soon to be making it over to my links/blogroll listing. I'm going to be reorganizing that whole section, so if any of you want to suggest any funny or just plain cool blogs or sites, comment it up.

The next one is a reader submission too-- from Erin who I wish I could meet in RL because it sounds like we could get into all kinds of trouble together.

That's right people- your favorite topic aside from Jimmy Eat World and Spoon lyrics, and that one really unflattering pic of me eating a doughnut at the State Fair last year-- creepy dolls. (These get numerous daily hits- tons. wtf people?)

The doll on the far right looks ready to chomp into your jugular, and the one on the far left looks like she's thinking, "This could get really interesting really fast." This is from this website, which looks like it has all kinds of cool photos, not all necessarily weird ones.

This is a shorty today. I've got tons of work to get done with those gates now, plus, you know, my other stuff-- running and riding. Everything I'm doing with this idea I'm considering market research for next year, because I'm really a good six months behind on this idea. I should have had it last Nov. The season has already started, but that's OK. It's still a good idea.

As for my death defying birthday bike jump, I guess I need to learn how to do a wheelie first. Wow, being all darey is a lot of work people. I just hope you appreciate all I do for you.

Clickin' Again

Hey People. I know everyone at times isn't thrilled with their job, but when you have a fun job like mine and the enjoyment takes a vacation and you don't it usually messes with the outcome (making whatever work you do get done pretty pointless). Yesterday I finally got back on track. The tunes were jammin', the welding mojo was back, and I was feeling it for the first time in a while.

What changed? Who knows-- but one thing that helped was all the feedback from you guys and from over on the art blog. Getting some positive comments and emails was encouraging. Things aren't selling right now, and between that and no word on the writing it was starting to feel a little hopeless. So thanks.

The gates idea is coming along. I came up with a rod design that inserts easily, and has a prong on the bottom that will seat up anywhere the chain link intersects. Now I'm picturing flowers, birds, butterflies, words, planter racks, replacing the piece on the top with something cooler... tons of ideas, and I like the look.

Price is the thing though. In order to sell, the components need to be affordable. You can see this example has 12 elements. If you say each piece is $10 or $20, it adds up quick. That's what I need out of them. Tack on another 40% or so-- what the galleries/shops take out, and you see the problem. I wish I could just set up a display somewhere and toss a $ box out and call it a day.


Do any of you have any feedback on price? I'm going to work on refining the design and getting faster making them. That will help reduce my cost. Stay tuned-- and by all means weigh in. Your feedback really helps!

In other SueNews:

In a brief email from AgentCoolAssChicka yesterday I learned I'm still in the "possible" pile at least. So no news is good news for now there.

And I had another brain storm yesterday. I'm always joking w/ Trusty Pam about the amazing stunts I'm pulling off on the bike when she's not looking. Now I'm thinking I'd like to work up the guts to go off that little jump that was at the finish line Sat by my birthday in about 3 weeks.

This is funny because to me and a lot of you guys this probably sounds really "ooOoooo..." (insert ominous note). But to the riders at the trail it would be like saying, "I'm going to try to make it all the way to the mailbox without my walker."

Usually I'm all by myself over there, and don't know what the hell I'm doing besides having watched some you tube footage. Seeing people actually ride stuff suddenly tosses it into the "humanly possible" category. Hey-- I'm a human-- maybe I could do it too!

Anyway, now that I opened my big mouth we'll have to see if I chicken-out. (Wee!)

Bikes are secretly time machines

So I did something pretty fun on Sat -- volunteered at a race at the mountain bike trail. My job was to basically sit there and key in registration forms and times etc, but it was fun just watching all the darey, half-crazy riders doing their thing. (Most elected to cross the finish line- my position- by flying through mid-air over a jump. Woot!)

Girls- were you ever a kid like this? A little tom-boy smarty-pants running around the neighborhood climbing trees and doing all kids of outsidey stuff? I was. Sheesh- I have one pal- and you'd never guess it if you just met her now- who lived way up north when she was little and her and her friend used to ride logs down the raging river up there! Like, sit on them like they were horses and ride them through rapids and stuff!

The biking lets me feel a little like that-- that little thrilly, maybe even slightly scary at times feeling of adventure. I never want to let that die out in me so have to pursue it. If I don't I know what will happen, that same thing that happens to most people. They lose that part of themselves and begin to rust.

The racers Sat were so amazing. I'm very friendly one on one, but in a crowd I prefer to hang back and observe. It seemed like a lot of people knew each other there, at least casually. A few familiar faces from running said hi which was nice.

I guess now that I've started riding I'm even more in awe of these folks because I get what it is they do, how accomplished some of them are- and brave, fearless, nuts, whatever.

There were three girls racing. One was one of those fabulous, tall, long-limbed women who had a great open smile and really cool glasses. I couldn't tell how old she was, but she wasn't a kid. She competed with the advanced men! I felt like asking for her autograph.

There were also a couple of those compact, plucky MN nordic blonds we all take for granted here, but who could go anywhere else in the country and steal the show. They were younger gals, and one is apparently a total mountain biking dominatrix, who has sponsors and holds clinics and everything. She won the women's class. Lamely I was too shy to say hi to any of these gals, but they seemed super cool.

Here's a cool story: The guy who was way ahead of everyone else in the most elite class- advanced men's- got a flat tire. When the guy who was in second came up on him, he helped him change his tire instead of blowing by the guy, then let him keep the lead. At the end they were so close it would have required a photo finish to know for certain who was first, so they both agreed to call it a tie. Is that awesome or what?!

I'm still having fun learning a little more each ride over there with Penny--(and now Pam & "Electra"). As expected the toughest thing for me to get through my head has been that sometimes- pretty often actually, speed is your friend on the trail. But I'm getting it, and expanding my comfort zone.

Maybe someday I'll be speedy enough to-- OMG-- almost said "compete"! We'll go with "not be totally embarrassed to be seen" for now.

The rest of you who aren't into trying anything this darey- blow the dust off whatever bike you've got and get out there. There are so many nice trails in MN, and all over the world even super old people bike. Go outside-- check it out-- reclaim some of that feisty little kid feeling. It's still in there somewhere!

So- Is This Anything?

Looking for some feedback in the art department people. What do you think of old chain link gates made into garden gates-- with colorful steel flowers added, and maybe other artistic touches, maybe holders for potted annuals etc? They could be an actual gate or could just be stuck in the garden or whatever.

Is this a cute idea or is it just me? (Really-- tell me. I don't want to waste my time right now.)

Another idea would maybe be using old screens and somehow making those into gates... (?)

Or old picket fence sections--? I'm thinking undercoated with one color, and top coated with another, roughed up, and then having metal flowers etc worked into the design. Bluebird blue over marigold comes to mind. (???)

Here are some flowers I've been working on.

Originally my idea was to make the entire gate, and that could stick, but then I saw all these old gates at the occasional sales and they seemed kind of nostalgic and kitschy. Anyone care to weigh in?

I've been in a creative slump lately. Big stuff isn't selling right now, and that's kind of what I'm in the mood to make. I've taken so much time off, no matter which way I go right now, I'll have to work my way back in. Work begets work. Fake it 'til you make it. It's like when you turn the hose on and it takes a while for the water to come out. The gates idea could be fun to fool with, but I sort of feel like making a big horse, or, stubbornly (hmm- moi?) more of those formidable female guardian figures that no one buys.

On the writing front-- a popular agent blogger did a post this week about how writers shouldn't self-identify as "writers", saying, "unless you're being paid, what you have is basically a hobby." It literally gave me a chest pain when I read that line. It felt very dismissive and like a slam.

But I have to say something has shifted in me lately. Not too long ago I told a few confidants that if nothing ever happened with the writing I would consider my whole life to be a failure. Talk about laying your cards on the table. I felt like through sheer force of will, and working my ass off at it, I could somehow "make" something happen. Cause some kind of universal wave form or something.

Call it selling-out, burn-out, or plain old battle fatigue, but now I've gone more into "if you're not enjoying yourself TODAY you're doing it wrong" mode. This is not to say I'm done writing. I do enjoy it, even when it gets consuming-- which it always does once I get into it, but I guess I feel like I've released it a bit. It's not the only yardstick by which I'll measure my life anymore.

I suppose this is healthy, even though part of me is reluctant to let that fighter part quit. I don't know. That doesn't seem right either, because I'm not quitting, and I'm not giving up, but I guess I feel guilty for letting some of my zealousness mellow-out about it.

Any writers out there read that post of Nathan's, or have any reaction about this?

Adventures w/ Trusty Pam

Hey people. Pam and I have a running joke about my Svengali-like vibes and all the equipment I've "made her buy" over the years. (racquetball stuff, tennis stuff, her first bike, which led to 2 & now 3, skis, various seasonal clothing, running shoes, and I tried to take credit for her brief aqua aerobics instructing career, but she says she'd have done that even if she hadn't met me in my own class. Talk about out of the box-- doing jumping jacks in a swimsuit in front of a bunch of strangers-- SO not me.)

Well, it's happened again. Now Pam has her very own girl mountain bike too-- just like Penny!

But how will we tell them apart? Hers will likely be "stabled" in my garage. I made Penny her very own little i.d. tag.

Also, Penny already has her first scratch, from the most boring crash on record. I was trying to go up this rather small hill made only of loose sand. I thought all I had to do to make it was not give up. No problem, that's my specialty- except instead I lost all forward movement and fell over sideways. Poor Penny! Right on her go go boot! (frowns)

The mountain biking is going good. I've totally changed my strategy though. The day after I got Penny I took her over and went through the whole course. Lots of it is too tough for a total beginner like me, so it took me a long time and I had to walk a bunch of parts. When I say too tough, I mean for me-- for my fear level as someone who is oldER and already has a couple of injuries going. If I crash hard it is not going to be good I'm guessing. I get the impression younger, dareyer folk probably just grit their teeth and go for it.

I know personally I need lots of repetition to get comfortable, and I can psych myself out if I continually have a problem with a certain feature, so I've pulled back a little. Instead of trying to ride the whole thing every time, I'm just taking it in steps, starting with the easier stuff. By riding through the same sections over and over I'm learning how to deal with those particular obstacles and getting more confidence. I'm focusing on #1- clean runs, and then getting faster and faster. I'm about ready to add another section now and feel like I'm learning a lot.

I'm telling you all this in case you decide you might want to try it. I know I sometimes sound super "danger girl-ish", but really I'm not into smashing up me or the bike, and there are ways to get into this and stay in one piece. Let me know if you ever want to go over and try it.

In other adventurey news, T Pam found these pics on this guys' website of the big kayak race last weekend. This is one of the "serious dudes."

This is that middle aged guy I was duking it out with for a while.
Ok, maybe he's older than I thought.

I love to see people totally having fun with it.

This guy talked to us on the bus quite a bit. Nice guy.

The canoeing teams were pretty aggressive and would plow right past you if you were in the way, bump your boat and everything. With two people paddling even the older out of shape people were generally faster than single canoers or kayakers.

Again, love to see people having fun, enjoying the outdoors-- and go team chick!


Here's Trusty Pam trying to knock a guy in the head. Hey, anything to get the lead. (just kidding)

This lady came in second.

This is the kiss-blowing lady. I can't hate her though. She was pretty cool. I can only hope I get to kick some forty-something-year-old "kid's" ass when I'm her age.

Here's me. See what I mean about us looking a little out of place? God, seeing those boots makes me laugh. You can see I'm in another neck and neck battle with the kiss-blower here (red kayak).

Too funny- check out that look of determination, and my Yurtle The Turtle neck. Maybe I think I can win by a nose...

This is just a cool shot of the river. All in all, this was fun. Some things are hard while you're doing them, but you know you'll look back and be glad you went for it, and have some funny memories or whatever. This was like that.

When I'm super old someday, I'll be able to look back on this and smile. Getting whooped by old ladies, stepping out of the box again, the beautiful day, how sore my hands were, laughing my butt off with Pam, all of it.