I knew she would not be there.  Yet I still went down her road, headed for her house, memories of laughter, hot coffee and shared thoughts in my heart.  The closer I got, the more hesitant I became because I knew what I would find.  I had only hoped against hope that something had changed and she would be there, but it was not to be.  I drove down the drive I had been to so many times, the gates at the end were locked.  There was a sign on them barring trespassers, those who would want to find her to be punished to the full extent of the law simply by going past that gate with the sign on it.  The U.S. Marshal had made his point clearly,  they were there to take away her home.  The why was not important to me.  Knowing how she must have felt when it happened, was.   I wish I knew where she was.  I miss my friend, and hope that wherever she is, she is safe, loved and ok.    Her too, I leave in His capable hands and am so glad she trusts Him to take care of her as well.

http://bikerlady.wordpress.com/

Time has come where I am making a change of address, so to speak.  While it's been fun here, it's time to move.  If you are looking for me, look here :)

http://bikerlady.wordpress.com/

Keep the shiny side up, y'all!

Faye

I received this in an email this evening.  Those of you who receive mailings from Pastor Tim will recognize it, but for those who do not, enjoy.

May each of you have a blessed joyful and peaceful Christmas.

******************************************************************************

Snow in December is fun, but when you live somewhere that some years doesn’t get enough winter to even speak of, the arrival of large amounts of the white stuff can really disrupt the rhythm of left coast life. It’s not just people that experience this – deer do too.

In the outlying areas of our city we have many deer – mule deers to be exact. Our deer are used to wandering around and grazing wherever they go, but now that the ground is covered in snow, they have taken to looking for food in some different places. The other morning we noticed that we had had deer in our carport and around our vehicles (where there was less snow) looking for food. This gave me the idea to go out and buy a bale of hay to put on our front lawn for the poor little guys. In fact, when my neighbor saw me putting out the hay, she donated a box of apples she had given up on ever getting around to canning, or making applesauce with, or doing some other “appley” thing with.

I was pretty happy about this meal that was ready on my front lawn because I was imagining how wonderful and magical it might be if we had deer grazing on our front lawn over Christmas. The night of the day I put the hay out, I frequently went to our front window and slowly peered out to see if at least one buck had stopped here. However it wasn’t until 5 o’clock the next morning when I woke up (quite unintentionally I might add) that my waiting paid off. I quietly maneuvered through the house to our front window and slowly pulled back the blinds and there it was. On solitary deer, standing in our front yard, silhouetted against the snowy banks, . . . . . eating my hedge. Doe!

Stupid deer. I was crestfallen. Not only was I bugged because she was eating the part of our hedge we have a hard enough time getting to grow, but there on my couch in the darkness it dawned on me that that perfect grazing deer Christmas picture – that wonderful occasion I had invested $7.95 worth of hay on and shoveled a path to - was not going to happen. All that hard physical work and emotional energy and anticipation was gone: gone like hedge through a deer.

That happens a lot at Christmas. We invest so much time and money and energy and emotion into experiencing an event we think will make “our” Christmas, only to be disappointed by someone’s behavior, the wrong gift they gave us, or some unforeseen event.

For others, even trying to make Christmas the way we would want it to be is beyond our even bothering to try. The one we wish would be there is serving overseas or perhaps behind bars. Poverty, estrangement, custody arrangements, and death mean that Christmases past are just that – past.

And then, some pastor you have never met e-mails you and wishes you a joyful Christmas.

I really do wish you that – but joyful in the Biblical sense, not the cultural sense. In our culture, joy is a warm happy feeling that one experiences when one has everything they could have desired. In the Bible, however, joy is the quiet calm that clicks in our soul when we realize the solution to what ills our soul is here, is real, . . . is ours.

Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of our Savior – God’s solution for mankind’s greatest dilemma: our need to be forgiven for our sins so we can live for eternity s with a Holy God in whose presence imperfection cannot dwell.

Christmas joy is the quiet calm that floods our soul when we remember that God loves us so much sent His son to be born, live and ultimately die for us and save us. Remember, if God sends you a savior, you must need to be saved.

At Christmas time, it is the literal and metaphorical deers eating our hedges that should give us joy and not rob us of it. The trials and “sadnesses” of Christmas can remind us that Almighty God, in Jesus Christ alone, has given us the one Solution that satisfies the One it counts – Him.

May that reality cause a quiet calm to click in our hearts come what may this Christmas.

God bless you

It was near 80* today.  Is it really November 18th???  Both hubby and I took the afternoon off and spent it together, riding our bikes.  We put on about 70 miles today, part of it near the river and it was soooo gorgeous, I wish I had had my camera.  The trees are bare, the grasses yellow with a small stream winding through near the road, reflecting the flawless blue sky.... 

Hubby on our last 'river' ride...

Time to go and make some supper.... I have thawed chicken legs in the fridge - perhaps I'll just fry them, and make some quick macaroni salad.  Sounds good from where I'm sitting anyway, lol

Today was a bright, sunny, windless 45* and it was just lovely.  I had to go do some shopping at Wallyworld, and I picked up a $2 fall tablecloth with pumpkins, squash and leaves on it, and got a $2 glass pumpkin as well as a bag of miniature candy bars to put in it.  Those who know me at all know I never decorate much so this is kind of out of character for me.  Or perhaps it is IN character... I'm rebelling against the Christmas things that are out already by staunchly digging in my heels and having Thanksgiving FIRST, rofl 

Spend an hour out on the motorcycles this afternoon.  It was kind of cold but soooo worth it.  Gracious, I SO need saddlebags on my bike, there is very little i can fit in the fork bag.

Well, time to make supper.  Chicken simmered in tomatoes, onions and garlic salt with some brown rice for a side dish, methinks :)

Oh my goodness, what a day and what a ride!!!!!!!  Saturday, that is...
Yesterday morning, as i was still sitting here in my robe someone rode up in my driveway on, of all things, a motorcycle Threw on my duds and went out to see who it was and my whole day changed.... it was a friend of ours I hadn't seen in years. He had heard from his daughter that I had a bike, and he said he just had to see that. I told him about my plans for my ride today, and he offered to go along, which was a great blessing. He has a Softail (I told him it was a couch with wheels, rofl) My dh is off hunting and part of what was making me a bit uncomfortable was knowing I was going to have to do business at the bike shop not knowing very much about what I was there for, and didn't want to make the wrong choices (after all, HD does stand for 'high dollar' ). Our friend is knowledgeable about bike stuff as he's been riding for some time. I told him about where I was skill wise, and that I didn't want to do the interstate but I was ok with town riding. We went down the frontage road, as I had planned and when we got to a stop about 30 miles down the road, he asked if I wanted to take a break and yuppers, I did.... I think a gel seat is the next investment . He made sure I was going to be ok doing the 65 speed limit on our next stretch of road, reassuring me that if I was not comfortable doing that, we could go slower. During that stretch I would find myself doing 70 or so, surprisingly.
We didn't go to the shop I was planning on, instead he took me to the one I bought my bike at originally, which is about 15 miles farther. I bought the pillion seat, and not only that, but the salesguy offered to help my friend put it on my bike as it sat in the parking lot - another blessing, as I just figured we'd put it in his saddle bags and my dh would have to do it, or the shop would install it for only $60 (the seat only cost $100 and I had a 10% discount coupon too ). Anyway, it was tremendously hard to wipe the smile off my face at that point.
So, I didn't

On the trip back, he stretched my skill even more. He.... I don't even know how to say it.... took the interstate! Ya know, when you can't talk to someone who is 30 feet in front of you and it's waaaaaaaaaay too loud, it's hard to tell them NO! I quit my mental whining and throttled up and headed on out right behind him, lol After about 5 miles, he got in the lane beside me and gave me a big grin and a thumbs up, telling me later that I did a great job out there So, I think with our friend I was sent a lot of blessings - he made me stretch farther than I would have made myself, made sure that I was safe in my ride, was very patient with me, and I didn't have my youngest daughter tailing me (she works nights and it would have been really stressful if she did follow me all day), and I'm sure that some prayers went with me, I could feel it . This day was absolutely fantastic, I put 210 miles on, had only one slight scare (took a corner too fast, focused on the wrong spot, forced myself to refocus on my friend and where he was in the road ahead of me, and corrected safely). We rode for about 6 hours, on and off, and I didn't want the sun to go down because I was sure there was more road to cover, somewhere.....
What a day! It was nice not riding alone for once I can't wait till dh gets the DynaGlide he wants!
Sorry no pictures, though, just imagine riding across the prairie towards the mountains and that pretty much covers what I looked at for most of the ride

I forgot to tell one of the best parts! We had stopped for gas and a soda at a quick stop sort of place, a little boy of about 8 came over to me as I stood there in my leathers and my helmet (carried by the straps on my arm), and he said in an awed voice, "Do you drive a motorcycle?" I smilingly told him yes, it is the pretty red one right outside the door. He went over and looked, came back with a big smile on his face and said, "I think it's maroon."    I think he's a husband in training, he's already finding points to argue, rofl!

"Math illiteracy affects 7 out of every 5 people"

Amazing, isn't it.....

lol

Today, somewhat nervously I took my first longish ride. I promised my dh that the first nice day I could I would ride the bike to church so (he) we could show it to our friends. Our church is 40 miles away, literally over the river and through the curves (no woods, lol). Dh and niece followed me in the car (good thing, too, or I wouldn't have had any clothes to change into when I got there) so having him behind me for that length of time, while I felt protected, I also felt a little under the microscope. It was gray, slightly windy and 50*, but the chaps, vest and layers kept me warm enough, just wish I wouldn't go numb (nerve numbness) in my hands so much. It's hard to flex the right one and get feeling back in without losing too much speed. I had only one omgosh minute on the way up, I must have gone into a rut in the middle and it wobbled my bike, whatever it was I didn't see it, but I got out of it in a hurry.
The ride home was nicer. The sun came out a bit, but the wind picked up too, however it was pretty uneventful on the way back, thankfully. I had to stop and get gas when we got back to town, and was surprised to see that my odometer was at 510...which means I have 410 miles of riding under my belt so far. I never ever would have believed a year ago that I would be doing this now.

I finally bought a motorcycle today, a 2009 Harley Davidson 883L.  What's so funny about it is I thought a Shadow 600 was too big for me, rofl, now I've got one 223 cc. more than that ;)  We will be picking it up (rather, splitting the ride home) tomorrow.  It's 70 plus miles from the dealership to my house, and I have no town/traffic experience, so my very very kind husband is going to ride it to the neverlands (the plains) where we will switch off and I will ride.  I'm SOOOOO excited!!!!!  Here's the pic you asked for, QT ;)

I did it!  I passed the riding skills and the written test both, and now have my endorsement!   Tuesday I will take my card to the motor vehicle license place and get a new license (yippee! new picture!) with the motorcycle endorsement on it.  It was just as hard as I anticipated it to be (at least in some ways), but was a really nice relaxed atmosphere, thankfully :)   Now it's time to go shopping for a motorcycle!

Three days!

That's all I have left till the class  Will I be able to remember all I need to know?   Will I be able to balance and ride right?   Will I be able to go through the obstacle course and not crash? Will my boots look cool with my jeans?   hee hee  So glad my hubby is doing this with me

Well, here I go! 

Hope all is well in your world :)

He (my hubby)  told me to.  I didn't do it.  I was sure I was right (not news there, lol)  He told me get a 10, but nooooooooooo, not me, it would be too small.  I had to return the 12's today because they got baggy very quickly, like within 15 minutes.  Now, before you get your hair in a knot, let me say that these are realllllly big 10's..... they say relaxed fit, but the last pair was so relaxed it was in a coma and fit horribly.  So I bought a pair of 10's.  He said I'd better buy some 8's too.  I looked at him realllllly ready to argue the point, instead clamped my jaws shut and picked up the 8's (talk about wishful thinking! ha ha ha)  So that is how I ate crow and it tasted like roast beef... I hate being wrong, but I didn't mind it so much this time :)

Today was the big day for my niece.  She turned 12.  She came upstairs to my bed last night, curled in next to me, crying.   She wants so badly for her male genetic donor (read that "father" who doesn't deserve the title) to call her, to remember her, on her birthday. We snuggled and she cried out her pain, then when she was soothed, she went back to her bed.  It's almost 8 p.m. here, and still nothing, but at least her mom called first thing this morning.  Her dad told her ( heard this one with my own ears) that he wouldn't come down or call because he doesn't like me.  The reason he doesn't is he says he feels "bad" about himself around me.  Wow, what a reason to ignore your child.  He hasn't been this way to all his four children, he lost parental rights to her two older brothers and can't see them until they are 18 now, if they choose to, but has gained partial custody of a younger brother from another mother.  My niece doesn't know about that, or it would rip her heart out.  I'm so thankful she turns often to the Lord for her strength.

That's enough of life for now, I reckon.  Hope all in your world is well!

Be safe :)

Yeeeehawwww!!!!! I came home from Wallyworld today with three pair of size 12 jeans!  I tried them on (yes, a tiny bit snug), but they did fit, so is it official, am I a 12 yet? hee hee hee!  My hubby was with me at the time, and he said, "Why even buy these?  Next week it'll be a 10, just save your money!" rofl... yeah right, nooooobody loses weight THAT fast.  I would not have even come this far without all the kind encouragment I have received from friends and fellow bloggers, thank you all sooooo very much! 

Fourteen days until the motorcycle class.  I need over the ankle footwear, and a friend who rides loaned me her boots, but they seem so clunky (even though they are the ones she rides in).  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find boots at this time of the year? lol

My niece is turning 12 this next Monday, and all she can think of is presents.... it's like being pecked to death by a duck, what did you get me, what did you get me, what did you get me.... sadly for her, it has minimized what I was going to get her.  She still has such a "foster child" mentality on some things, and this is one of them.  Gratitude comes at a cost, all the time, no matter who you are.

This past weekend we were going to take the family camping (for said niece's birthday), and the Lord chose now to refill the lake. It has been raining around here since Friday, I think we've received something like 5" in the past two days.  In our drought ridden country it's good to get the water, but kind of tough on the ground, which is hard and not too absorbent.  I'm hoping it dries out a tad, as the green beans really need picked and I don't want to try it in ankle deep mud, lol

My dear friend Judy made the extra special effort to call me last night and let me know that there was a tropical storm that was attempting to become a hurricane, and that it had my name.  After hearing that, my husband asserted that it would definitely be a category 5, hee hee!

Hoping that all is well in your world... stay safe :)

Me

Am I out of my mind?  The class starts in just 26 days, and I can hardly wait, yet I'm sooo nervous about doing this :)  I have to look past the class, because after the class comes.... SHOPPING for a bike, hehehe... then there is making the payments (another down side) but saving on gas (upside) which will not offset the cost for a while (downside) yet, this will be a new beginning on Part 2, Faye Does Life :)  Always end on a positive note, heehee

But at the moment, I'm busy processing corn so I can freeze it, plus I have a bucket full of green beans to get ready to can, so off of here for now!

YIPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I've lost 60 pounds so far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, only 60 more to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEEEEEEHHHAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am registered to take the cycle course at the end of August!!!! yeehaaawwww!

Much to my surprise, my dh is also going to take it too!!  What fun!

We had our 20th anniversary this past week.  We got in the car, ready for a 4 day vacation, with no children!, destination planned..... We got in, he looked at me, I looked at him, and he said, "y'know, we can still go see your mom..."  so, instead of heading west to the mountains as previously planned, we headed south toward the mountains instead.  That was one plan out the window before we even made it out of the driveway ;)  We went to mom's (a 4 hour drive), didn't tell her we were coming and showed up at her door, surprising her, and took her out for a nice dinner.  After visiting with her for a while, we took her home and headed for the hotel room we had already rented and had the absolute joy of my dear friend Heather coming to visit.  While we were there, there was a tremendous thunderstorm and LOTS of rain, which the area needed, and the best part was I'm sure it caused her to visit longer ;)  The next day we headed to LaVeta and took the train up to LaVeta pass and back.  It was kind of a disappointing trip, though.  We got the dome car, which was nice and met the loveliest couple (they were celebrating their 55th anniversary three days after ours, funny thing is her middle name was the same as my first name), but the air conditioning was not working and it was very hot on the way up, not to mention long and not as scenic as I would have hoped.  Supposedly we were to have an hour layover to walk around the meadow and just enjoy, however the other train we were to switch to was already coming in, so like cattle, we got herded over to the other one and went back down the mountain.  Then we went to Bishop Castle http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2047 which is an experience not to be missed if you are in the area.  Tremendous is the only way to describe it.  After that we headed to Canon City to find a motel for the night, and found a nice Super 8 with a heated pool and hot tub, of the which we took great advantage.  The next day we stopped and did something I have always wanted to do but haven't till then..... we took a helicopter ride http://www.royalgorgehelitours.org/ .  I didn't think that I would ever do it over the Royal Gorge http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/ and definitely did not bargain on a pilot who was not afraid to die and take us with him, rofl...  We dipped and dove into the canyon, turning sideways to avoid the canyon walls and then shooting straight up in the air just to level out and drop again.  My toes were firmly dug into the seat in front of me... I'm sure you can still see the indentations of my toes, and I was wearing tennies at the time, hee hee!  It scared the snot out of me at first, but by the time we were done, I was ready to do it again, and will if we get in the area once more.  It was terrific!  Next time I'm taking FRONT seat!  Of course, the camera had to die right after we got on the copter, so, nothing much for pictures from that point on.  Afterwards we headed to Buckskin Joes http://www.buckskinjoe.com/ and took their small train for a look over the gorge.  If you have ever seen any of these movies http://www.buckskinjoe.com/page.asp?id=16&name=Movies you've seen Buckskin Joes, as they have made several westerns there.  Then we went to the gorge itself and rode the tram (like being in a cracker box suspended from a plane connected with thread, but STILL not as exciting as the copter ;) ) , rode the incline and walked until our feet ached.  It was great!  After that we headed to Woodland Park, found a lovely suite that they discounted down to half price so the clerk could go home as it was the last room, rested up, then the next day headed home.  It was marvy...!

The Dome car

Ernest & Olita Faye in the dome car, such sweet people!

Bishop Castle pictures

What is a castle without a dragon?

This is the last pic I got before the camera died, and before we dipped or rather I should say, plummeted, into the canyon....

Ok, I know I came to this planet with them pre-installed.  My guts, I mean.  I'm certain of it.  They have to be here somewhere.....  There is some classes coming up for basic (motorcycle) riding.  They teach you everything you need to know and then give you a paper to take to the DMV, and wahlah, they give you a license. However, no matter how bold I am becoming in doing things differently (like getting my second holes pierced in my ears, may I say now... OUCH!) and independently, I am still a ..... yes, I'll say it,... I'm a girl.  That being said, I know even girls come with pre-installed guts.  But... I'm a girl, and girls do everything in pairs or groups.  This will be done alone.  Eeeek.  The 'eeeeky' parts are the cost which is expensive,  a 100 mile drive one way, scheduling to do this on a Thurs. evening, drive back home that night, work on Friday, back up there on Friday night, spent Friday and Sat. night there and do the classes on Sat. and Sun.   Having written it down makes it a lot easier to manage, because now I can see what the obstacles are :D!    I believe I have a place to stay while up there (my daughter's boyfriend has an apt. there but he's working out of town during that time, so it will be empty), I think I can navigate to the college fairly well, despite it's in a larger city.  Guess the only place I'll have to do a "gut check" is when I get in the class and get astride the bike they will be providing :D! 

(Judy I borrowed your paragraph, mostly because I don't have time to write my own this morning before work, lol)

The “apron queen” from An Apron A Day has invited fellow apron lovers to join in a round of Kick the Bucket.  This is based on the movie “The Bucket List”.  The list is made up of things you would like to do before you kick the bucket.  It sounds like fun to me…not to mention how great it would be to win one of the vintage aprons being given away to random winners just for playing along.  For all the details click on the “An Apron a Day" link above. 

As for my bucket list, very much subject to change due to seasonal mood changes and occassional attacks of hormones, as well as the lightbulb going off and being hit with an "aha!!" ....