ooookay, then.

I was so excited today; I was going to go on a bike ride! One of the two pairs of bike shorts I'd ordered had arrived, a pair of men's bike shorts that was the only thing I could find that a) had padding and b) was an approximation of the correct size. (I ordered a pair from Junonia that turned out to be on back order, i'm still waiting on them.) I've had no luck finding plus-sized bike shorts in real stores; REI doesn't carry anything above about a size 14 in their brick and mortar stores, and the local bike shops don't have anything for non-skinny women. (I'm going to have to order a couple from REI online; I have no confidence that their XLs will fit me, but I guess it's worth a try.)

But! I had bike shorts, so I was going to go for a ride. I got myself all together, got my backpack complete with hydration pack all packed up and ready to go, got my new bike shorts on and found out that I can put my braid through a hole in the back of my helmet, which makes it a lot more comofrtable. I mounted up and took off.

About a half block away from the house...

Hey, why is my butt all wet?

Well, there was indeed liquid in said liquicells. That came pouring out all over my butt, my seat, my legs. Sigh. I turned around and brought myself back home.

Strike one for bike shorts, I guess. Not wanting to ride with a wet butt and also not wanting to deal with the chafing that I'd gotten on my first bike ride (I literally wore the skin off pieces of my inner thighs without realizing it), I scrubbed the ride. Ah, well. Next weekend, maybe.

digging in the dirt

After this afternoon's wardrobe malfunction, I moped and watched TV for a little bit, then decided to do something productive with my day.

Hmmm, what to do, what to do? I know! Garden!

I hied myself to two nurseries, discovered that it's too late to buy either lilacs or hydrangeas, but did find some ground cover, a ceanothus for under the pictture window (it should get to only about 3 feet tall, so no obscuring the window, yay!), a coule of interesting basils on sale, rosemary, and lavender. My vision for the side bed is a lavender bed, since lavender's drought-tolerant and heat-tolerant, it should like that spot just fine. And I like lavender, a lot.

And...i now have a vision for the backyard, plant-wise. Not a clue if I'll be able to make it happen, but we'll see. (Let's just say that it may well involve some thornless climbing roses.)

Anyway, all of the plants but one are planted, and I need to find an actual pot for that one, since it'll need to be brought inside over the winter. I did a couple of other needed outside-y things, like putting the canopy on the swing. Then, once it cools down a little, I'll give the kitchen a good cleaning and the rest of the house a picking-up, do my laundry, and maybe watch a DVD and veg a bit or write some. ah, yes, my exciting life. :)

Edit: Aww, guess what Esme brought me? A garter snake! Just what I always wanted! Alive, too.

(I actually am very fond of snakes, and spent a minute petting this one before setting it free. I keep thinking about keeping one f the ones Esme and Greebo bring back, but then I realize I live with a South African and that is Just Not Happening.)