Unfriendly.. or just quiet?

Today we rode the tandem 32 miles. Met a group of Spartan-burgers at Morgan Square downtown and took their route on new roads (to us) south of town. We continue to be amazed at how unfriendly Spbg riders are. They haven't purposely lost us on a ride yet, but no one wants to talk with us. They don't seem to talk to each other much. So maybe it isn't us. We are just disappointed that we haven't met any biking friends yet.

We had a good weekend. I took Alan to Anderson Thursday night and he fished ALL DAY Friday with Brad on Lake Thurmond/Clarks Hill. NICE sunburn to show for it; they didn't bring home any of the 20 fish they claim to have caught. I got a little sunburn myself at the Clemson game on Saturday, my first of the season. BIG win over UNC.

Church this morning was very exciting. A repeat of the only First Wednesday service we've attended, a very moving depiction of the crucifiction. Many chose to make Jesus their Lord as a result. Alan overheard a 70-ish man in line for the restroom (yes, a line for the men's room!)saying that he has been coming to Newspring 3 years and rarely misses because he is always curious what will happen in the service. They are creative!

Long-sleeve Season

Anything below 70 is cold to me, so tonight I had to break out the long sleeved shirts. Oh, the seasons are a'changin'. We took the tandem out about 6:45 tonight, and I didn't quite wear enough clothes. Not long pants season yet, but I could have used a thicker jersey or one with sleeves. We wore our matching Clemson jerseys and looked COOL! Rode through the neighborhood, the length of the Hub City Connector trail (BUSY), around Duncan Park Lake and back to the house before dark, just barely. 11 miles. Now I'm watching the replay of the Clemson win at FSU last Saturday night. What a game! Go Tigers!! A funny thing I was reading about tonight. Around SparkleCity there are these kudzu control sites. Check out KOkudzu.com for the info. Group of community volunteers trying to tame this monster, mostly without chemicals. There's a site at Duncan Park that we were curious about, so we checked it out. Funny, interesting, commendable stuff on their website.

Denny's Demographic

Today we were hungry at 4:00 and stopped at the Denny's in Hendersonville, NC. I learned an important lesson about who eats at Denny's that time of day. We undercut the age average by 30 years. Mostly couples in their 70s. None all that cute, actually. I promised Alan I would still love him when we are that age and eating "dinner" at 4pm. I guess the senior menu is a deal, but I thought it was a bit expensive for the two of us "youngsters." It cost us more than the tableside guacamole, mexican stew and chalupa the night before. Can't eat out every day at Denny's prices. And my clothes smelled like grease. At least no one was smoking. Hey, we were HUNGRY.

More About Food

Yesterday was a big food day for us. Alan went to Nestle's Stouffer plant in Gaffney with Andy Smiley. He had a good time and brought home some Lean Cuisine, Stouffers and other frozen Nestle products from the company store. So the freezer is stocked. And I went to the GreekFest at the Orthodox church for lunch and had pastries (baklava and kataifi) for breakfast this morning and leftover pastichio, a grape leaf roll and a Greek salad for lunch today. The weather is absolutely beautiful here today. Makes fall my favorite season of the year.

House Spouse

Two weeks into Alan's temporary retirement. Some things are very good. He makes the bed every day. That is really important to me. He keeps the clothes washed and folded. I appreciate that. He's had dinner ready a few times, or at least cooking. That is terrific when I come in exhausted from work. He made me gumbo for lunch one day. YUM! And a few days I've been met at the door with a peanut butter rollover and a glass of milk to fuel me up for a tandem ride. Yesterday we road about 30 minutes and then stopped to visit with my friend Sharon from Greenwood who is grandchild-sitting this weekend in Spartanburg. And tonight we met up with the Smileys (Andy, Tammy and Drew) for dinner at Moe's and a trip to the mall to pick out photos of Drew made earlier in the day. It is almost like we have a social life here, but we've had to import friends from Greenwood to create that illusion.

Bike Builder

Alan has been laboring to assemble the new Leviathan frame into a functional bicycle for several days now. I do not think he is discovering a "love" for work as a bike mechanic. Those strange people appeared in my kitchen again tonight at 7:30 and cooked. We made part of a Rachael Ray potato recipe for the second time. Alan was the primary chef and I did the prep work and clean up. Plus Progresso French Onion soup, for this rainy day. The weather change is making me achy. Two ibuprofen didn't make a dent in my pain. And I haven't exercised in so long that I probably can't any more.

Have flowers, will travel

Here they are, my anniversary flowers. Alstrameria, but they look like azalea blooms. They still look great today, and Alan gave them to me last Wednesday. I had them in my office on Thursday and Friday. Then I took them along for the weekend and enjoyed them at my Mom's on Saturday, at Devilla's during the Clemson game, at Vikki's overnight and even took them into church this morning to decorate the lobby during the first service.

Alan's birthday bike finally arrived. Orange "Levi" the Leviathan. Check his blog for pics.

Happy Anniversary to us

14 years! Wow. And how did we celebrate? Well, Alan bought me flowers. We went out to dinner (of course, like we do most nights) and then we stretched out in the living room floor and watched the replay of last Saturday's Clemson football game. As Dustin would say, "what could be better than that?!" My husband is a lucky man, to be married to a woman who'd rather watch football than ( just about) anything. I think we might make it another 14 years, or maybe even longer! I love him, that's for sure!

Labor Day at the office

Rainy day in Spartanburg. Alan left about 8 to meet the guys in Greenwood and ride his single speed at FATS, the new mtn biking trails near Augusta. So I was home alone all day, and I enjoyed the free time. Did put in a few hours at the office to catch up a bit and prep for the week ahead. Had time to read, something I haven't done much of "just for fun" in years. And study, and write, and cook and grocery shop. Just puttered around doing my own thing, listening to the rain, playing with the bunny. Alan came home dead tired. Not a bad way to spend a day. (:

Poaching...

Well she is my wife so I guess it really isn't poaching, but I now have a blog to let you guys know about my search for what I am supposed to do with the rest of my life. Check it out here http://avb-insearchof.blogspot.com or in the links to the right.