A Second Goal Accomplished: A Picnic with Steve

I'm quite a bit late posting about this goal from 4 Simple Goals Before 2013. But I forbid myself from blogging during the busy end of the semester, and the break just got away from me.

Long live the Hercules (Steve's bike).
It was stolen a week or two after the picnic.

On a lovely Sunday afternoon in November, Steve and I went on a picnic to celebrate a little milestone and enjoy the warm weather. We picked Manderson Landing, a park that overlooks the Black Warrior River, as our destination, packed up the bikes with a mom-made quilt and a little lunch, and headed out. It was a lovely day complete with fall leaves and adorable dogs.

I baked french bread the day before and made a big picnic sandwich for us to split. Steve brought the chips and cokes.

Steve wasn't too impressed with the Renaissance Fair-esque sword fighting going on across the sidewalk, but it's all a day at the park.

I also baked some pantry cookies. I'll post this recipe and the one for the picnic sandwich soon.

My mother made this quilt for my dorm room bed my freshman year of college. I simply love it, and it's perfect for a picnic.

I'm afraid I will only be 2 for 4 on my 4 Simple Goals before 2013. I'll put the letter writing and dressmaking on my list for the new year.

I enjoyed a Christmas break filled to the brim with sewing, cooking, traveling, and visiting with family. Now, I'm a few days into the new semester.

I hope that y'all enjoyed the holidays and your new year is off to a nice start.

One Simple Goal Accomplished: Two Wheel Traveling

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about 4 Simple Goals {Before 2013}. 

The third goal on my list reads: Ride my bicycle to campus more often than I take my car.

 I can gladly report that I've succeeded at this goal.

And I love it. 

 Breathing fresh air and getting my heart pumping is a much better start to the day compared to sitting in traffic and trying to find a parking spot, and it's actually faster to take my bike.

I pack simply and lightly. My little basket holds a small notebook, a few books, my phone and wallet, a collapsable tote, and even a strategically placed coffee cup. (Although I might be pushing the 17 pound weight limit now that we're into the very large second volume of the Norton Early American Literature anthology, but that's yet to be seen.)

Bicycling makes me more confident, y'all. Those hills aren't as steep and those cars aren't as intimidating as they used to be. I grew up in the completely flat Mississippi Delta, never having to change a gear to pedal up hill, so I am weary of even the smallest of hills and plan routes around them. (Ask Steve about the first time he made me pedal up a hill in Columbus.) But one day I got the courage to go a faster route up a small hill, and now it's a breeze. I'm also more comfortable in street traffic. A lot of students at UA ride their bikes on the sidewalks, but I'd rather not run the risk of hitting someone who is walking or getting in the way of someone who needs full access of the sidewalk. So it's out into the street for me. Thankfully, drivers around Tuscaloosa seem to be pretty aware and considerate of us folks on two wheels.

Riding while wearing a skirt is much easier than I imagined. I had horrible {possibly illogical} visions of my skirt blowing up over my head or getting caught and ruined in the chain, but after seeing the women on Call the Midwife ride on cobblestones in nurse's uniform skirts and finally deciding I couldn't keep saving my favorite skirts for the rainy days of driving, I mustered up the courage to try it out, and much to my surprise, it was no big deal. 

Here's a photo of my second successful skirt/Schwinn combo:

thanks to Collyn for snapping this one

Happy pedaling! 

4 Simple Goals

After reading about Kitty and Buck's 4 Simple Goals,  I spent some time mulling over what my 4 goals might be, and I think these 4 are a nice place to start.

1. I am intrigued by the design of Colette Patterns. I've ordered a few of her patterns, planned projects, and even bought fabric for one, but I have yet to trace and cut the first pattern piece. Whether I go ahead with one of these projects or plan a new one, I will use one of the Colette patterns that I already have to make a new garment by Christmas.

2. Steve and I like to go on bike rides (some leisurely, some not), and our Sunday afternoon rides always make me wish I'd thought to roll up an old quilt and pack us a picnic lunch. One Sunday before it gets too cold we'll do just that.

3. Now that I live close enough to campus to bike in for classes, I plan to do this more often than driving. The past few weeks I have chosen my car most of the time because I am either running late or wearing a non-bicycle friendly outfit, so from now on I must to plan for enough time to get to campus on my bike and learn how to make my teaching attire bike friendly. On the days that I've ridden to class thus far, I have avoided my skirts and dresses, but my closet and love of dresses won't allow for an all-pants attire much longer. I guess this number 3 could also be: Learn to ride a bicycle in a skirt.

4. More often than not, letters that I intend to write either end up unchecked on a lost to do list or in a pile of good intentions on my desk. I love to write and receive them, but I easily talk myself out of taking the time to sit down and write. I will try to write at least one {handwritten} letter a week.

This is my first try at a blog challenge of sorts, but I think this will prove to be a productive and meaningful one.

Read more about the origin of "4 Simple Goals" at A Beautiful Mess.