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Slackline

Bryan got me a Mother’s Day present, but he couldn’t bear to wait until May to give it to me.

It’s a slackline!  It’s a lot like a truck tiedown strap, made of heavy yellow synthetic webbing with a burly buckle to pull it tight.  It’s supposed to be looped around a tree at each end and tightened to take out as much sag and wiggle as possible.  And we’re supposed to walk on it.

Slackline contests are popular with climbers, and I can see why – it’s fun.  But also really, really hard.  The first time my foot pushed down on the line, it waggled uncontrollably back and forth.  I looked down, feeling a little betrayed- what was wrong with my foot and ankle, that they were behaving so unpredictably?  I tried looking forward, but it didn’t help.  I actually grabbed my knee and calf, hoping to steady my foot, but it continued flailing back and forth wildly.

Bryan took a turn, then Mitch, then Monkey and Nick.  I think they all thought ‘oh, I can do a ton better than that.’ But we were all equally awful at it.  Finally, after some practice, we got better.  ‘Better’ meaning “can sort of stand on one foot for about two seconds.”

Maybe by Mother’s Day I’ll actually be able to walk on the damn thing.

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The Tall Bike Project

Our friend Mitch got a welder for Christmas, and ever since then, we’ve been thinking about that welder.  He doesn’t know how to weld but he’s got a book.  Bryan doesn’t know how to weld but he’s been around his dad who can weld.  I don’t know how to weld, which makes no sense because all the guys in my family can, but they never taught me, which I’ve always been slightly offended about.

We’ve all been thinking about tall bikes for awhile.  And we have this lovely welder.  Welding can’t be that hard, right?  You just wear a funny hat, put pieces of metal near each other, and poke them with that stick thing.  Continue reading “The Tall Bike Project”

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National Bike Summit 2012

I’ve been doing a ton of work with Little Rock’s bike friendly community committee, so when they offered me a chance to represent LR at the National Bike Summit this month, I was eager to go.

At the last minute my flight from LR to Dallas was cancelled, and I was rescheduled on a flight the next day.  A day’s delay would have meant missing part of the conference, so somehow, with me standing at the ticket counter inside and Bryan in the truck looking up flights on his iPhone, I managed to get on a different airline’s flight to Chicago and then to Washington DC, right on time.

Continue reading “National Bike Summit 2012”

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New Mountain Bike

In the back of my head, I’ve thought that mountain biking would be interesting to try but over the years I’ve never gotten closer than riding my Long Haul Trucker (LHT) touring bike on gravel roads near Lake Sylvia or in Newton County or riding my polo bike on a very flat beginner mountain bike trail while my daughter rode her mountain unicycle.  My LHT is pretty nice on gravel roads because of Surly’s “fatties fit fine” policy that allows me to fit fenders and 50mm tires.

photo (7)

Continue reading “New Mountain Bike”

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Dog House Project

Hayduke has a pretty good life.  That little stray puppy huddled in the tree roots, hungry and scared, has made a fine life for himself in the house across the street.  He gets good dog food and an endless supply of toys and treats and belly scratches and long hikes in the woods.  It’s his first winter here, and even though he sleeps inside at night, he needs a doghouse for the cold mornings and evenings he stays outside during the winter, or during the rainy parts of the year.
But will any old doghouse do?  No, it will not.  No doghouses we can buy locally are insulated.  No doghouses we can order online review well.  Most dogs in Arkansas do just fine with a non-insulated doghouse.  Most dogs don’t read online reviews.

We’re BUILDING a doghouse.  We ordered plans online from doghouseplans.com and gathered ideas from reviewing hundreds of doghouse photos.  We’ve gone to Home Depot a half dozen times.  We’ve spent good money and large parts of four days building this doghouse.

Continue reading “Dog House Project”

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New Years Hike

Happy New Year!  The last supper of 2011 was Jarion’s excellent steak and veggies, eaten by the light of a camp lantern on a picnic table.  We spent the last night of 2011 in a tent near the top of Mount Magazine.  It’s a windy, windy place.
We were up early, in the cold.  Jarion had lost the lighter the night before, so I loaded up the early risers to obtain a replacement (and coffee) at the Lodge.  Then we drove back to camp for pancakes and eggs and sausage before loading up the dogs and the gear and driving back down the mountain.

Continue reading “New Years Hike”

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Priorities

We’re done!  We’d been way behind on the blog again.  Our excuse is just that it was a busy autumn, and I just didn’t make telling stories and posting photos a big priority.  In many cases, we would have the photography but no story, or we’d have the story but the photos weren’t finished.  Or we’d be finished with one post but an earlier one wasn’t ready and we hate to publish things out of order.

We’d like to thank all our readers (yes, all three of you!) for your patience.  We’ve spent chunks of our holiday vacation finishing up posts from the last 5+ months.

And now we’re operating in real time. Everything that happens now, is happening now. We’re at now now.

–Bryan & Aly

Latest Posts:

  • Festivus (12/26)
  • Guest Bathroom (12/26)
  • Holiday Decorating 2011 (12/26)
  • Mandy’s 14th Birthday (12/26)
  • Jingle Bell Jubilee Parade (12/26)
  • NOLA Pukefest (12/26)
  • Ouachita Trail, Section 6 (12/26)
  • Caddo Valley Rail Line (12/26)
  • ASMSA Open House (12/26)
  • Ozark Highlands Trail, Section 2 (12/26)
  • Bike Fair 2011 (12/26)
  • Bikes Vs. Zombies (12/26)
  • USGS + MUC (12/26)
  • Obedience Class for Dogs (12/26)
  • Arky 100 2011 (12/26)
  • Clinton Park Bridge Opening (12/26)
  • Lake Catherine (12/26)
  • Traffic Safety 101 (12/26)
  • North Georgia (12/26)
  • Bike Commuting (12/26)
  • 2 Rivers Bridge Dedication (12/26)
  • Diamond Bear (12/25)
  • Goodbye, Fencing (12/24)
  • The Amazing Giant Cat Tree Palace Sniper Tower (12/24)
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Festivus

This year we added an official Festivus celebration to our holiday calendar. (Wikipedia has a well-written and comprehensive article about Festivus, and you should read it if you’re unfamiliar with this winter holiday.)  Bryan made a Festivus pole for the house (under $10 DIY or you can buy one here –Bryan), and our friends Kathy and Jarion went with us to a movie (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol; worth the IMAX surcharge –Bryan).  After the movie, we ate supper at our house and participated in an extended Airing of Grievances session (she’s holding a Grievance form against his chest, above.)  We went to their house for carrot cake for dessert, and the dogs took care of the Feats of Strength portion of the customary Festivus celebration.