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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Silver Liningness Sunday

Another sunny, warm day here, I'll take it.  It was nice to frolic in the park yesterday, and to see kids and their parents playing outside.  I'm afraid we're going to forget how to cope when the weather turns wintry again!

But in the meantime, we'll take advantage.  Today I had the bittersweet task of helping Wolfgang get moved back into his dorm.  Winter semester starts this coming week.  I'm grateful he's enjoying college and doing well, both socially and academically.

After he'd loaded the van up, we pulled out of our neighborhood, and there was no traffic in sight!  I think there was some big football game going on nearby or something...

Speaking of nice weather and traffic, I got Alice all registered for school this week.  This time of year is usually Bella's time to shine, but it's been so mild lately, that I thought I'd better get a sticker for Alice.  That probably jinxed the weather right there.  I also got her some ding-a-ling bling.  See it?




In other commuter news, I discovered a shortcut to the lovely bike path this week when I was looking for bicycling directions on google maps.  




I don't know how long the access shortcut's been there, but it allows me to avoid riding in traffic all the way to school.  My old route uses a bike lane along a regular road for about half the commute, and when it snows, the bike lane becomes the holding spot for all of the road vomit, making bicycling there pretty unavailable.  

So this was a wonderful discovery!  I can totally avoid that stretch and take the lovely bicycling path.  I've never been so grateful for such a patch of asphalt before.  Thank you, City of Colorado Springs Parks and Rec!

So this week, it's back to the books.  I'm half looking forward to it and half cringing.  I'm looking forward to seeing my classmates again, and I think this next round of classes will be interesting.  

To be honest, last semester was kind of lame as far as my teacher classes went.  But I gave the program the benefit of the doubt as those classes were the "weeder" classes, and I'm glad to have them behind me.  Now the more interesting stuff should begin.  

It was a nice break.  Great to have time with all of the kids home and to reflect on my goals for the coming year.  
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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

We too have had a nice little bout of warmth before the big freeze sets in again. I worked through it, but was able to find a little time to wash my 'salty' car.
I'm excited about your new bike path! Does your Parks and Rec group keep it plowed during snow season?
Love Alice's ding-a-ling bling! I'm sure she's proud to be official.
Each year of schooling will get more and more interesting and fun. I'm sure of it! Have a great first week! And be sure to make time for us non-scholars!

lotta joy said...

Hey! Like Jesus said to Paul: I can see your house from here! And one is out of the nest. Just don't put his stuff away yet and get a pool table in his room.

Guano said...

Oh Snap! A totally traffic-free route to school? That's the mother lode, right there.
The semseter just got better.

My dilemma: Who am I supposed to root for in the WeedBowl?

Abby said...

This bike path (featured in many an Abby Cam movie) is like the bicycle highway that runs for many miles north/south, so it does get cleaned off when it snows. How well remains to be seen!
Glad you had some time for some recreational de-salting!

Abby said...

I'm just glad to be able to see the floor of the room now!

Abby said...

It was like finding a treasure map. I had to read the directions twice... "Wha..?"

Mmm Hmmm... I wonder who you will side with for the Smoke-a-Bowl.

Ms. CrankyPants said...

yay on the no-traffic route; seeing bikers on busy roads always makes me cringe.

Abby said...

I'm all for keeping us separate from the general population.

Rebecca S. said...

Road vomit - I'll share that one with my hubby. He was able to ride outside one day last week, a very happy camper he was! The States seems to have so many more bike lanes than our cities do. We are way behind, I think, in the city planning department. Vancouver is trying very hard, but they sure deal with a lot of opposition. Vancouver's central core is very dense and everyone is fighting for parking space, and lane space. Mind you, if more people used their two legs to get around there would be less of a problem :)

terri said...

Sounds like your a little behind us in the getting back to routine department. I ran into a friend with kids in college and his were just going back, one this past weekend and the other next weekend. Kacey's been back for over a week already. Anyway... let's march on towards spring!

Glad to hear you got Alice all outfitted for the commute and that you can keep her and yourself out of the danger zone. Nice discovery!

Riot Kitty said...

It would make me super nervous to ride in traffic.

I hated the weeder classes. I mean, do they make them as boring as possible to weed out those who aren't super stubborn?

Abby said...

They actually weeded out quite a few. I'm glad they're behind me!

Abby said...

It was a looooong break. I'm read to march onward!

Abby said...

Some cities and countries are really bicycle friendly. Ours is so-so, but they like to brag about the "miles" of bike lanes that are really just some lines painted on already existing roads so they can brag. People would be crazy to ride on them! The big bike path is nice, though - totally separate from motorized traffic... and road vomit!

meleah rebeccah said...

I'm happy to hear Wolfgang is doing so well in college. That's terrific!

And hooray for some nice weather - for a change!


"but it allows me to avoid riding in traffic all the way to school.  My old route uses a bike lane along a regular road for about half the commute, and when it snows, the bike lane becomes the holding spot for all of the road vomit, making bicycling there pretty unavailable.  So this was a wonderful discovery!"

BOOYAH!!

Anita said...

I remember having the child version of the ding a ling bling on my bike when a was a wee little thing. It was fun to have.

Glad you've discovered a new route!

agg79 said...

New route? How cool! Does this mean no more mouse town adventures?

Abby said...

There's always time for Mouse Town!