Danke Schoen, Darling, Dunka Schoen. Thank You For All the Joy and Pain.

Welp, it's almost Thanksgiving. As soon as 4:30 rolls around, I'm off work for four whole days. Tomorrow I'll get up early to do what looks like will be a VERY muddy trail "race" with John and the girls. Then my daughters will head to their partners' families' Thanksgiving and John and I will spend the day cooking and cleaning and hanging out in a clean, quiet house until later in the evening when the kids and their partners come over for either a second meal, or just pumpkin cheesecake and a drink and things get rowdy.

As far as being thankful goes, I'm grateful every damn day for all of the things and pets and people and experiences and health I have. Yes, things have been tough lately, but not as tough as they've been in the past and I am in a much better place mentally and emotionally to deal with the crap that gets flung my way than I was in my twenties, thirties and even forties.

I hope everyone out there in blog world has tons of stuff to be thankful for as well...Even if it's just a couple of stinky, grouchy, old cats.

I Got You to Walk With Me. I Got You to Talk to Me.

Last week I was talking about my weird year and how things haven't been the greatest for me lately. I'm happy to say, that a couple of weeks ago we went to the Chicago area to race bicycles and it was just what the doctor ordered. I needed a wonderful weekend, and I got it.

The race was in the town of Woodstock, Illinois where they filmed the movie "Groundhog Day".

The race organizers had a lot of fun with that fact.

The first day I raced was the Illinois State Cyclocross Championships. They offered masters women's categories for the first time.  Of course, I was the only woman in the 55+ category. There were few women who were just a year or two off of that. So, most of the women were so sweet to me about being the oldest old lady out of all of the old ladies who raced. One woman doing registration there even hugged me when I hopped off of the podium. How nice is that?

John also had great races that weekend. He was second place in his race on Sunday for most of it, but he didn't wear warm enough gloves or put a knobby enough tire on his back wheel, so he kept sliding out and his hands were so numb, he couldn't switch gears. He ended up 5th, which is pretty damn good anyway.

Sadly, out about 150 selfies we tried to take, this was the best out of all of them. I look insane.

After our race on Saturday, we got to meet up with my friend Sarah at a show downtown. John and I both love Sarah. She is hilarious and fun and super smart, and she always takes us to the coolest places when we come to Chicago.

This time she had us meet her at this cool old warehouse area that they turned into studio and shop spaces.

It was a neighborhood benefit celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bloodshot Records, which is a small record label that mostly deals in alt-country bands. The best thing about the show was that started at 4 pm. Perfect for us old folks.

We listened to music for while and then got really hungry, so we walked down the street to an amazing taqueria to eat dinner.

When we got back to the show, we decided to check out the shop spaces. They were all really cool.

Since it was getting dangerously close to eight o'clock, and we had to drive over an hour back to Woodstock, we had to say goodbye to Sarah and be on our way. It was so great to see her, and I love traveling to places so different than where I live. I don't think I could live in a big city again anytime soon, but I love to go visit.

On Sunday morning, I raced again. On Saturday, the course was pretty muddy, which is always good for me. I didn't do too badly, when racing with the other women, and I wouldn't have even been last in the masters women category if you put us all together.

Sunday was a different deal. I'm still not all that strong, so after racing on Saturday, I was feeling weak and tired. On Sunday they only had a 35+ women's category.

I was second to last in my race for at least half of it. Close to the end of the first lap, I rode my bike to a muddy uphill section and had to get off of it to get any traction. Then, for whatever reason, I had a hard time hopping back on my bike, so the woman in last place was able to almost catch me. On the second lap, John told her that she could probably catch his wife. She told me later, that him saying that spurred her on to try a little harder, and she did catch me by the third lap. I had no energy to fight her, so I stayed as close to her as I could and only finished about 30 seconds after her. It was fine by me. I'd much rather have someone to race for last place with, than to ride all by myself for a podium position. Plus, that woman was so nice and cool. I didn't feel bad at all losing to her.

After our races, we went back to the pub we had lunch at the day before. It was in the old jail of the town, and it looked pretty cool. They had great food, and I even had a beer with lunch.

Unfortunately, we forgot to drink to world peace.

After lunch, we left the town of Ground hogs and bike races and headed for home.

We had a great weekend. It was just what I needed, but Archie was so glad that we were home.

In the Snow White Cottages, Every Day Looks Like a Myth

Well, kids. It's the tenth anniversary of me buying my first house. The only way I was able to buy a house was because Obama had that program that gave me (a first time homeowner) an $8,000 credit, and my brother fronted me that money until the government paid up, and I got an FHA loan that allowed me to only put 3% down. So, thanks, Obama! No, really. Thanks so much.

When I first bought the house, Coadster was a senior in high school and Stinky was a sophomore. I wanted a three bedroom house and a basement and a garage and a sunny backyard. What I got was a three bedroom house, with a crawlspace, and a garage and a shady front, side, and backyard.

I got the best that I could afford, and I still feel very lucky. The Ash trees in my front yard eventually were full of disease and the city had to take them down (thank jeebus they were on the easement, so we didn't have to pay for that). So, I finally got a sunny yard, albeit in the front, but my neighbors don't seem to mind.

After Coadster left for college, We were finally able to pull up the nasty stained carpet (Coadster loves carpet and I can't stand it) left by the old owners, and sand down the hardwood floors in her old bedroom. Now, it's turned into a giant closet where we do our bike trainer work-outs, but it's nice to have a place for all of that.

About a year after I bought the house, John and I started dating. Eventually, he moved in and bought into the mortgage. He was able to put enough money down to get rid of our stupid mortgage insurance and bring our 30 year loan, to a 15 year loan. Last year, we refinanced our house to get money to get a new roof, work on the foundation issues, and make some more improvements on our cottage.

So, now we have most of the things we ever wanted in a home. I never wanted a brand new McMansion. I'm glad we have a little cottage that is a perfect size for me and John, has a front yard that we turned into a garden, that brings over all kinds of bees and butterflies and provides us with flowers, herbs, and food. It is also our sanctuary where we retire to heal from anything bad that the outside world causes, but also to celebrate all the good that the outside world causes.

Sure, I'd love a second bathroom, but if that's all we're lacking, yeah, I'd say we're pretty damn lucky. Here's to many more happy years in our cozy cottage.

And Now It's Winter, Winter in America

It's been a weird year for me so far. It started out just fine, but the sometime in the Summer, things started to go South. With anything, it's never all good or all bad, but for me, starting around June, things got pretty damn bad.

In the early part of the year, I hardly had any migraines and I was feeling strong running and riding my bike. Sure, the Winter was pretty brutal, but I felt good, and I was coping just fine. In June I started having little migraines all the time and I just couldn't ride or run or do any of the things that help me deal with stress.

In July things calmed down some. I didn't have any migraines, and we went on the best vacation I've ever been on...And the when we go back, things really went to shit. I had a horrible Summer cold, and then we had bad family issues come up, and then I had a migraine for over a month straight. In the past two weeks, I took my car in to get my oil changed, and I ended up having to spend over $500 for new tires, and my daughters' cousin apparently killed himself by jumping in the Mississippi River.

Things are hard, but they aren't impossible, and they aren't the worst they've ever been. At least I had the money to buy my new tires, even a few years ago, I wouldn't have. I talked with both of the girls about their cousin. They were both very upset and I checked in with Coadster to make sure she's been taking her anti-depressants, and she has been. My migraines have also calmed down quite a bit, and the other family problem we're having we'll deal with and support each other the best we can. I know I'm lucky to have a supportive family and daughters who call me to help talk them down when they're upset. I am also very lucky to have John who is one of the most empathetic people I have ever met.

I'm hoping things get better at the end of this decade, and through the new one. I'll just continue to feel gratitude for all of the good things, and to be supportive and ask for support when things get rough. It might be another hard Winter, but I am very lucky to have warm clothes and a car to function in it. I also bought a ton of epsom salt bubble bath, some good books, chamomile tea and I have fun movies to watch to help me to relax through the stressful times. Comfort and escapism is my favorite cocktail in the Winter. I'll just keep trying to take care of myself and my people and pets, and be ever hopeful. Speaking of which, I hope things are going better for all you all.