Catching Up

Wow - far too much time has passed since my last post. Instead of trying to do multiple posts, I'm going to hit the high points and get it done. First and MOST important - the date for my wedding is March 20 - 60 days and counting. We are getting married at the Edwardian Inn in Helena.

The Edwardian Inn

We will be accompanied by our family and closest friends and that is so very important to both of us. My older sister and her family will not be attending. That hurts my heart more than I can express, but I can't change it and it will not ruin our day.

November and December were both very busy months. In November we did a lot of organizing at what will be our home in Hope, traveled to Helena where we rode our bicycles 62 miles in the Tour da' Delta, and celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving in Sherwood. Marcia came down from Rogers to celebrate with us. John's Thanksgiving was very different than times past because all of his previous holidays had involved a large extended family. With the loss of his precious Mom in March, it has changed and his sisters stayed home with their immediate families.

John at the Tour da' Delta

The Mississippi River bridge on Highway 49 is LONG and steep. Have I mentioned I hate bridges - even in a car - and on a bicycle - well - it was BAD.

December was even busier. We decorated 2 houses for Christmas, attended the Nutcracker Ballet, visited kids and grandkids in Louisiana and Missouri, went to a Razorback basketball game, and did more organizing!

Christmas morning at Jenn's house in Missouri.

and on New Year's weekend - we RESTED!!

Blessings ~ Letitia

Mother's Day Weekend

With Mother's Day at hand, visiting Jenn in Columbia was just the thing to do. Mother's Day happened to coincide with Art Night at the Vet School. John and I left after work on Thursday and were 2 weary pups when we got to Columbia at 2:00 on Friday morning. We had a great weekend visiting with Jenn and Michael, going to Art Night on Friday night, visiting bike shops on Friday and
Saturday, and riding with Jenn on the Columbia spur off of the Katy Trail - which is a "Rails to Trails" multi-use trail that spans most of the width of Missouri. As for details - Art Night was Jenn's funding-raising brainstorm last year and it was so successful that she had to spearhead it again. Quite a few of the students in Jenn's class and the one below her participated in one or more of 3 areas - visual arts, performing arts, and culinary arts. Jenn had some of her paintings and photography on display, made a couple of dishes for the Culinary Arts portion and performed in the closing act of the night. We ate all kinds of food, placed bids in the silent auction and enjoyed the art and performances. Columbia has several great bike shops and we both found cold weather cycling jackets for 50% off. The bike trail that we rode on Saturday was not paved, so the going was slow but the area around the trail was beautiful. Jenn rode my Trek and enjoyed it so much that I left it there for her to ride since so many of her friends also ride. As is so often the case, we delayed the return trip too long. John didn't get back to Hope until midnight Sunday night.

Mt. Pleasant, TX

Saturday morning in Mt Pleasant was sunny and warm - just what John and I wanted for the first organized ride of the year. About 100 riders gathered for a "Ride with the Eagles" - a fund raiser for the arts department of the North Texas Community College. We signed up to ride 43 miles. The route was beautiful - all rural, lots of farms and fields and wildflowers. One hill after another, major wind,and washboard roads changed my mind about the 43 miles. John rode the entire route which was actually just over 45 miles. I, however, turned off onto another route and was just PROUD to finish with 36 miles. Back in Hope - we rode again on Sunday. I finished the weekend with just over 50 miles and John had a metric 100 - just over 62 miles. I know for sure that I need to figure out the "numb feet" problem that bothers me after about 15 miles AND I have to learn how to ride up hills.