An Alberta Clipper!

Now I know what that means! Whoa...I rode my bike to work on Tuesday and it was just softly snowing at first until the wind started to pick up. The day got colder as it went along and it was actually warmest in the morning...(in the 30's). By the time I got off of work though, it was dark and there were wind gusts from the North up to 40MPH! Mike stopped by the shop to tell me to be careful over the wooden bridge (ice) and to be careful on the roads.

The snow pretty much had quit, but the wind was hammering away at unreal speeds. Then on Wednesday we woke up to a soft, white snow dusted prairie, with a temperature of 12 degrees, feels like -1. I've never been anywhere where it was that cold. Ever. When Mike left for work on his bike in the morning, I thought he was nuts. I was going to walk....but I went outside and the snow was so soft and crunchy...not icy and slippery...so I hopped on my bike and rode in the snow. I crunched through all the new snow-paths, leaving tire tracks and I felt like a kid.

The snow falls sideways here. It doesn't fall gently down...I watched it fall from the windows at the shop and it felt like I was in a moving vehicle or something...pretty wild. Anyway---I guess it's winter.

It's snowing!

We have something called an Alberta Clipper coming our way. This weather news caused everyone doing stuff around their houses to prepare for whatever this brings. Once "snow" is in the forecast, all other news on the evening and morning news channels take a back seat and they devote almost all the "airtime" to the weather guys. Last night on "Keloland", all the meteorologists who work at the station (the morning guys, afternoon guys and evening guys) were working to give us information, predictions, how to prepare and what to prepare for.

Minnesota Dad came over to do something with our polaris thing and did whatever we needed to do with it in case we needed it, and then I called the prior owner of our house and asked if I needed to do something with our outside water spick-et. She wasn't home and hasn't called back and so I am assuming all is well. (Of course the fact that I didn't know what I was really asking about and Mike was busy riding the rollers and couldn't tell me the right words to use might have confused her?)

Anyway---it's really not "that" cold or windy outside. But the snow is falling and it looks pretty really. Mike says it won't accumulate and it will be gone by the weekend since we're forecasted with sun and 50 degrees. He left for work on his bike and I will do the same later...unless it really dumps. Then I'll walk to work in the snow. I don't have waterproof shoes...guess I'll just do what I do on my bike and cover my shoes with grocery store bags.

The snow is falling straight down and so there's no wind...it looks like snow in Lake Tahoe or Aspen, but without the mountains. It's nice!

A "Johnnie"

Not a "Joni"---that'd be me. What's a "Johnnie", you might be asking? I suppose a Johnnie is alot of different things/people/nouns and even an adjective/adverb in the American English slang sense. The "Johnnie" I'm referring to though, is my husband---as in a graduate of St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota.

Second question, I thought you guys were going to a bike race on Sunday? Well, we were ---at least that was the plan. What we didn't plan on however, were all these extenuating circumstances that were beyond our control. First....Mike woke up with a slightly sore throat. He's still got the tail-end of some sickness that just won't go away. We were in St. Cloud and he met with the team's coach (who is an exercise therapist/professor at St. Cloud University with a bunch of PhD's in all sorts of sports/fitness/and "ology's") who also mentioned to Mike that he should be cautious. He threw in verbage about pneumonia and other junk. Add to this the current weather of 30-50 MPH wind, 40 degrees, with a rain/snow mix, and it all just felt like a BAD mix. Not worth it.

So instead, we took the scenic route home. "Hey Sweetie, wanna go and see St. John's---where I went to school?" I was game, and the Scrapper was game and so we did. What a beautiful campus...small and quaint with an European feel to it nestled in a lovely woodsy area near St. Cloud, complete with a lake (This is the land of 10,000 after all). As we passed the buildings, he'd say, "That's where I lived my Freshman year...everyone who's a freshman lives in the "Tommy" (St. Thomas Hall) or the "Mary" (St. Mary's Hall)" We walked through the buildings and he said "Oh---this is way different. This was our room when I was a sophmore. Whoa! They must have gutted the place." His old room now says, "Do Not Enter---Electrical room".

"Hey and that building didn't used to be called THAT?!! It used to be called....uh...oh...hmmm...I forget what it used to be called. But it wasn't THAT!" (It's amazing the things you forget huh?) "Oh wow", he said, "They put a fence around the football stadium. That was never there. I remember when the old "Learjet" Leary was so hammered he fell all the way down the hill and couldn't go to hockey practice for a while!" (...and equally amazing the things you remember!)

He gave me a grand Taylor tour...and topped it off with a purchase of a couple of loaves of freshly-baked-by-Monk's "Johnnie bread", one for us and one for Uncle Jim who recently celebrated a birthday and is also a "Johnnie". This is the best bread we've bought in Minnesota and even you Californians (who are spoiled with fresh and tasty bread) would approve. (I wonder...do they ship it?)

Anyway---no race report this weekend....but I'm certainly enjoying exploring Minnesota with my husband and my hound. It just doesn't get much better than that! Happy Monday!

P.S. Word on the street is that "Big Mig", also known as "Taylorini" also known as MT has returned from retirement. (We weren't doing "Nothing" in St. Cloud!) Details are forthcoming...really they are...so stay tuned to the "Taylor-newsfeed-from-Minnesota" (also known as Joni's big mouth and MT's biggest fan!)

(been having trouble posting..)

Sunrise...and Outside!

A sunrise dazzle to start the day! Yesterday may have started off chilly and windy...but the Southwesterly breezes are the best ones and everything warmed up to about 60 as the day progressed. Can you imagine? It would have been a perfect day if I had worked in the morning and then had the afternoon off, because the wind even died down in the late afternoon. But I rode my bike outside and since I'm equipped with all the right gear I was one "happy hound!" (-: Today is supposed to be even better, and I do work in the morning---Nice!

Anyway, I really love this time of year. I'm still undecided about winter (how can you make a decision about something you're completely clueless about?), but these crisp fall days are nice. Funny thing is, I love all the leaves all over the lawns. Most folks rake them all up, but I like the leaves all covering the lawns like soft carpeting. It seems like everyone goes for that neat, manicured look (just like a golf course), but every now and again you'll pass a house with the leaves covering everything and I like it better that way. When we were in St. Paul, all the houses on the street where Daniel's folks lived had leaves all over everything and it was lovely. Natural. I guess I like the look of the golf-course too...but I don't prefer it.

On Saturday, we're heading to St. Cloud again to meet up with some of the guys on Mike's new team. I love the GrandStay Hotels and I especially love staying there "on the house"! We're getting the red-carpet treatment due to Mike being such a hot-shot bike racer and I'm definitely looking forward to working for these guys next season. It's also nice to be in a situation where we can both give back something to the sport we love so much. It's a real developmental team...And it's small enough to where we can really make a difference.

And on Sunday, the Minnesota State Cross Championships are being held in Crystal, MN and we'll head over from St. Cloud and see how Mike does. It's sure nice to still be riding outside---I hope you are enjoying lovely weather wherever you are reading me from!

Good Morning and have a fabulous Friday!

Basketball daze

Mike came home from work last night and began rummaging around asking, "Have you seen my Chuck Taylor's?" (as in Converse basketball shoes). "Or even my Michael Jordon's? I used to have some Michael Jordon's too...hmmm???" I replied that, "I think we left them in San Francisco---aren't they the one's that made your feet stink?" "Oh yeah", he said.

"How about my swimsuit? I can't find it". Well, I was at a loss there too. I still have boxes un-packed from our move that I need to go through. Anyway, what's up with the not-about-bicycling talk anyway you might be wondering. The crew at US Bank was par-taking in a little friendly inter-departmental competition after hours; Basketball. Or "B-ball" as the terminology goes. There are a few former basketball stars on these teams---and this is actually what Mike is better known for in these parts, even if he hasn't picked up a basketball since he left college.

And as much as I thought it would be fun to watch him in action, we don't have a YMCA membership and so the Scrapper and I went for a jog outside in the wind while Mike played b-ball with the boys at the Y. Something different. And as for his swimsuit, I told him I'd buy him a new one...(a fancy speedo! ha just kidding!). Anyway, with the wind blowing like nobody's business today, I was glad he had something to do besides ride his bike for a change.

When he got home, he said, "I think my big toe's nails are gonna fall off!" I smiled and asked, "did ya crush em'?" He said, "No seriously, my toe nails on my big toes are gonna fall off. These expensive(!) Puma's are worthless (he said worse, but worthless is the gist)!" Sure enough, when he peeled off his double socked foot, his big toe's nail on each foot was black and blue and the toe was bright pink!

"But did you crush em'" I asked? (sympathy forthcoming) He grinned and said in Taylor-fashion (a.k.a. no wasting words), "Yup!"

Full of sympathy now, we cooked and ate dinner and iced his big toe's...."I hope my toe's heal quickly so they don't hurt during the cross race this Sunday...!' Now that's bike-racing talk...something I'm a little more familiar with!

Have a great day!