A very personal look back at 2013

This year brought a number of major changes to my life – one negative, some positive. This is how it went down:

January: Lucas' last month at OBI, as his year-long work contract ran out the end of the month. Norbert and I flew to the US the end of the month, spending a few nights at the Outer Banks before heading to Mom's.

February: A good visit with Mom, but I was shocked at how tiny and fragile she was. She said repeatedly what a good visit we had, and when we left, I told Norbert that I thought she felt it was the last time we would see each other.

The good news of the month was that Lucas was accepted in the job-training programme at OBI, starting August 1.

Norbert and I celebrated our 22^nd anniversary. The weather was awful all winter, lots of snow.

March: The nasty weather continue all month, and we even saw snowflakes on Easter Sunday, March 31.

OBI decided that since Lucas would be back with them as of the summer, he may as well join them now, and hired him back on a part-time basis as of the first of the month.

This month had my cycling highlight, as Gerald Ciolek won Milan-SanRemo in a major upset, and helped put his team MTN-Qhubeka on the map. Incidentally, that race was shortened by snow, which was to become a common theme this spring.

On the evening of Saturday, March 30, we received a phone call from the US that mom had been taken to the hosptial with an apparent heart attack. Fortunately my brother was visiting her at the time.

Later that evening we got word that she had not survived. It was, on the one hand, sudden and unexpected, and on the other hand – not. She had been noticeably deteriortaing physically the last year or so. We all cried and realized how blessed we were to have had her in our lives.

April: I flew over to the US and Norbert and Lucas flew a few days later. We shared some beautiful moments and memories with family and friends at Mom's funeral, before turning ourselves to the work of closing up her house.

I basically missed the entire Spring Classics this year. I believe a did about an hour live report for the Tour of Flanders, which was the day after Mom died, but I have still no idea who won. I also watched Paris-Roubaix, but saw none of the others.

We flew back from the US on Friday, April 12, and exactly one week later, Norbert and I flew back to the US for our planned vacation. We were both exhausted, physically and emotionally, and wished our plans had been different.

That vacation turned out to be a huge success. We flew to Jacksonville, Florida, and drove up to the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia for two days. We absolutely loved it – so beautiful and mysterious and different. It turned out to be the perfect distraction and soothing to our souls.

After a few days at the beach in Florida – including one afternoon laying in the sun! -- we flew up to Norfolk, The original plan had been to spend a week with Mom, and we changed it to a few days at the Outer Banks and a few days meeting my brother at Mom's house to finalize things.

May: Got home on May 3, just in time for the Giro d'Italia, which started on May 4. Yes, I planned it that way.

The end of the month Norbert and I drove to Bavaria, and spent a lovely weekend with our cousins Anja, Wolfgang and Lisa. So wonderful to get to know them and add them to our life!

This month I made a decision I had been thinking about for a year: I decided to retire from Cyclingnews. Although only a part-time job, it took up very much of my time, life and energy. I decided I wanted to use those assets in other ways in the future: spending more time with my family, traveling, hobbies – in other words, enjoying myself in the years I have left.

June: This month saw Lucas take his first solo vacation. He flew to DC and stayed with my brother for about 10 days. I understand a good time was had by all.

July: The Tour of France, of course, which is rather all-consuming. But my last one!

Lucas turned 20 – I don't have a teenager anymore!

Started the month out in a great way: Norbert and I saw Bruce Springsteen in concert. Absolutely wonderful! But odd to see all these old people grooving in the audience.........

August: Lucas started his job-training at OBI. It will be for two to three years, and he will get expereience in every department. This should set him up for a career.

Anja, Wolfgang and Lisa took revenge for our visit, by coming to us for a weekend. We enjoyed celebrating Anja's birthday!

The break between the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana seems to be shorter every year, and I plunged into my last Grand Tour.

We were so thrilled by our Springsteen experience, that we went to another concert. This time it was Joe Cocker, and it too was great and much fun.

September:

The highlight of this month was of course the tenth: my 60^th birthday! It still seems awfully old to me – but a great age to stop working quite so much! We took the family out to dinner that evening, and then had a big party with neighbors, friends and extended family on the following weekend.

I also made the public announcement that I was leaving Cyclingnews.

After much thought I decided what I wanted for a birthday present, a new sewing machine. I got a really super new one with every convenience. I must say, the technology has sure changed a lot over the years, and a good machine is so different from the cheap ones I had always had before. I love having the opportunity to sew clothes and things again!

October: I had planned to stop at Cyclingnews after the World Championships in September, but at a colleague's request, I stayed on through the Tour of Lombardy on October 6. Thank you once again to Dan Benson for letting me do the last hour or so of the live report as a goodbye. And thank you to everyone associated with the website, and all those who read it!

Norbert and I had stayed home long enough, so we jumped on an airplane and flew to London. We met my brother Bill there and had a great, if tiring, time sightseeing. It was also good to be with Bill on what would have been our mom's 85^th birthday. Wouldn't she have loved to be there with us!

November: I was lucky enough to almost immediately find a new part-time job (hopefully only part-time!) and something I had always wanted to do. Stephan Flock, with whom I worked on and off for several years, and I will do the press work for the Synergy Baku Cycling Project, a cycling team based in Azerbaijan.

The middle of the month Norbert and I took off to the North Sea in the Netherlands. The weather was not terribly co-operative, but we got in lots of long walks and good fresh air, and mainly enjoyed the opportunity to just get away from real life for a few days.

The end of the month I did something I had sworn I would never do: I opened a twitter account.

December: I had been afraid that when I stopped working for Cyclingnews I would end up sitting at home with nothing to do and dying of boredom, so I made long list of things to do. So far I have had time for none of them!

Having been to the UK in October and the Netherlands in November, I extended the streak by going to Spain in December, attending the Baku training camp for a few days. A very interesting experience, and I think I am going to like this job!

Strange not to call Mom on Christmas, but we had lots of loving memories of her.

What's coming up? For 2014 I hope for, of course, good health and much happiness for all of us. For myself, I hope the new work goes well and proves not to be too time-consuming. I want to have lots of time to devote to my sewing, baking and cooking, as well as time for family and cat!

We have three vacations planned already for the year, with a fourth in the works. Yes, all involve the US........

Summary: Mom's death was not only the biggest moment of the year, but a turning point in my life. It helped me make my decision to leave my job, to use my time doing what I want to do.

Interestingly enough, a number of friends also lost their moms this year. Being able to share that experience with them was important and helpful – if only to know that this is a part of life and something we must all go through.

All in all though, things are positive. I now have more time and less stress, and am eager to use that to continue to enjoy my life.

Wishing everyone all the best in the coming year!

Chatham Artillery Punch

My brother and I ran across this recipe years and years ago. Discretion being the better part of valour, we never tried it, but also never forgot it.  Thought I would share it with everyone as a suggestion for their New Year's Eve party! :-)

CHATHAM ARTILLERY PUNCH

1 lb. Green Tea 5 lbs brown sugar

3 gallons Rhine wine 2 qts maraschino cherries

1 gal. St. Croix rum 3 doz. Oranges

1 gal. Brandy 3 doz. Lemons

1 gal. Rye whisky 2 or 3 large stone or glass crocks

1 gal. Gin

Put tea in 2 gallons cold water. Allow to stand overnight. Strain and add juice of the oranges and lemons.

Add: brown sugar, cherries and all of the liquor.

Cover lightly. Allow to stand (ferment) for two to six weeks.

Strain off cherries and put liquid in gallon or quart bottles.

Mix one gallon of this with 1 quart champagne.

Pour over large piece of ice in a punch bowl and serve.

(Makes 12 gallons and serves 200)

Trying to go heart-healthy

The last few weeks I have been perusing the whole heart-healthy diet thing. Yes, there is a reason. As far as I know, my heart is fine. But Mom had heart problems. When she had her bypass surgery in 2001, the doctor said she had had several heart attacks already (unnoticed) and her arteries were over 95% blocked. When she died last spring, they were all blocked again – hence the final and fatal heart attack.

I also know that diet only plays a limited role in heart disease, but it is something we can control Plus, a healthy diet is – well, just plain good for you, right?

The hard part is going to be building all those fruits and vegetables into the menu plan. I am starting small. In addition to my usual glass of juice with breakfast, there will be a fruit cup or fresh fruit. Every sandwich now gets a layer of lettuce. Hopefully there will be two vegetables at every dinner, and at least every other day a tossed salad. Snacks can be fresh fruit, right now clementines and apples.

Going to be tricky to find affordable and tasty fresh fruit and veg during the winter though...

Happy to see some old favourites on the recommended list. Sweet potatoes! Yum! Can have those at least once a week. And a common breakfast recommendation is a whole-wheat english muffin with peanut butter.

Dinners will be a challenge, as the two men in the house aren't so in to this idea... But last night's Shrimp Scampi (less than 5 minutes in the microwave!) was a big hit, and I suspect tonight's Salsa Chicken Tenders will be too.

If they don't know it is “healthy” and “good for you”, they will be more likely to eat it, right? :-) And after all, I want to keep them both around for a long long time!

I can also adapt some of my current recipes. For instance this week's Turkey Wild Rice Soup called for two cups of heavy cream. I did half cream, half skim milk. It could easily go more to skim milk and not suffer.

I will also start incorporating more whole wheat into my baking. Just found a whole-wheat baguette recipe that looks great!

I am not being fanatical about this but taking it step-by-step.

Wishing everyone heart-healthy holidays!

The Cold North Sea, Day 2

One of the goals for this trip was to relax and rest. That is what this day turned into.

I felt fine when I woke up. Within half an hour my intestines made their presence known, and I will spare you the details. I finally felt well enough by midday to go for a walk, then took a nap when Norbert walked out to the beach later on.

His latest hobby is restoring old radios, and he brought one with him, so he was happy to stay in and work on that.

We took another walk in the afternoon, despite the cold, the wind and the drizzle.

Wanted to eat at The Grill this evening, but like so much else here, it was closed today. So we ended up at Pizza & Pasta. Norbert had lasagne which he said was bland and I had spaghetti bolognese which was fine.

Watching Germany playing GB in football (soccer) this evening.

Have felt better all afternoon, so tomorrow will hopefully be good again.

The Cold North Sea, Day One

Monday, 18 November

We both got up early enough to see Lucas before he left for school at 7 a.m. Later Norbert made a last-minute grocery store run.

We left the house at about 11:15. The Netherlands has done a lot of work on their highways and the trip was very smooth and easy.

The weather is nothing to praise, except to say it was dry. Gray all day, with the car lights turning themselves on. Only about 6°C.

Along the way and near the coast we saw hundreds if not thousands of water birds, both in the water and flying in swarms. Fascinating! There were also many, many swans. I love them so much and it is so wonderful to see them in the wild.

We stopped at the outlook tower so Norbert could eat a sandwich, then continued on to the park, arriving shortly after 2. Checked in with our e-ticket in about 2 minutes flat. Parked and walked into the park. Arranged for WIFI for the week. Had a coffee.

We then got the car again and drove to our bungalow. It is a bit hard to find, quite near the Market Place, but on the other hand also very secluded, which is nice. Unpacked and rested a bit. Also stopped in the park's grocery store to get the necessities: fireplace logs, beer and chips!

Then we walked to the beach, about one km each way. COLD! And windy! 

My nose and sinuses have been a bit iffy all day, so I bundled up like an Eskimo. 

Still ran through half a package of tissues, though. 

Wonderful fresh, crisp salt air. 

 Back to the bungalow about 5 p.m. Another rest and then dinner.

Tonight they are having the “Welcome Night” with a '70s and '80s musical theme. We haven't yet decided if we will go or not but the music would be good... I think it is also a clue as to the age range of the people here now … the only children here are pre-school age, the rest of us are getting on the years....

Time flies....

.... when you're having fun! That's the old saying, and it sure holds true for me.

Having a blast with my "retirement" and staying as busy as I want. Getting lots of baking done, and re-acquainting myself with sewing. (I am appalled at how much I have forgotten!)

Two weeks from today Norbert and I take off for five days at the North Sea.  If the weather is good, there will be lots of long walks and bike rides. If not, there will be lots of days curled up in our bungalow reading and relaxing! Sounds like win-win to me.

After that Advent starts, and involves lots of Christmas markets and bazaars. So lovely to have the time to go to them, and not have to work on weekends, so I can get to those bazaars. As to the big German Christmas markets, Aachen and Cologne are are "must-do"s this year.

Apart from that, it is time to start rooting through everything in the house and decide whether it still deserves a place in our life or not. How on earth does one accummulate so much stuff, and why is it so easy to just hang on to it?  Time to get merciless!

The last of the fudge brownie muffins has just disappeared, so it is time for something more. Got some bananas on sale last week, so it looks like banana muffins are on the menu. Personally I hate bananas but my two guys eat them.

Also slowly gathering Christmas presents to send to the US -- really need to get a move on with that. Won't be as many this year :-(

No real news here, sorry about that.

Keeping busy

Three and a half weeks into retirement -- and loving it!

I have to admit my greatest fear was that I would have nothing to do and sit around bored all day. I am so grateful that that has (so far) not happened. Sometimes I even feel like those who say, "I don't know how I ever had time to work!"

One fun thing has been one big outing every week, either with a sister-in-law or friend. Fun to see new things, do new things, and just spend some one-on-one time.

There is also vacation planning, of course. We have now booked: five days on teh North Sea in November; two weeks in Florida in January; a week or so at the Outer Banks in February; another week there in AUgust (wth another week tacked on before or after to be spent somewhere....). Also toying with the idea of flying over again for Lucas' fall holidays, with a week at either Myrtle Beach State Park in South Carolina or North Bend State Park in West Virginia.  (Beach or mountains, what a choice!), and then a week or so in DC area.

I have, of course, not entirely stopped working. I put in time for Cyclingnews on two different occasions, and did one of my usual triathlon translations. Plus I translated the wedding invitation and enclosures for a colleague of Lucas', which was fun. (No payment expected for that one, of course!)

Have bid on a few possibilites for the next cycling season, no idea whether any of them will happen. No sense in worrying about them, either.

Today will be an exciting day.... NOT!  Laundry, ironing, clean the bathroom, grocery shopping, etc etc. Oh well, all things that need to be done, at any rate.

Relaxing, enjoying and taking it easy

I have now been "retired" for some 10 days, and so far have found it to be great. Haven't been bored once yet, which, I must admit, was my greatest fear.  I have had several periods of goofing off, but that is because I wanted to rather than because I couldn't think of anything to do.

In fact, the time has flown by, and I've not given any time at all to my hobbies, which was one of my priorities.  Funny how that works out.... There has just been enough to do otherwise!

Of course I still follow cycling closely, although not as closely as before. In fact, I totally forgot to turn the tv on and watch the last stage of the last race of the year!

It has been odd reading Cyclingnews. They have already brought in a new person to do much of what I did before. It was a strange feeling, almost some jealousy on my part.  I hadn't expected to feel that!

Meanwhile, plans are afoot for more activities in the coming weeks -- going out with my sisters-in-law and friends, and such things. Looking forward to it.

The first thing, though, is this weekend. Norbert and I are flying to London early Friday (VERY early Friday, ugh) and will meet my brother Bill there.  Flying home Sunday evening. I love London, and Norbert has never been there, so it will be fun to show him around.

Plus, Sunday would have been Mom's 85th birthday, so it will be nice to be with my brother on that day.

The only downside is that it is supposed to rain all weekend in London.....

Facebook finally allowed me to change by work situation from Cyclingnews to Tick Ink. I have had several people tell me, "of course we will have some work for you in the future!!!" but I am not going to hold my breath on it.... For a lot of them, my connection with Cyclingnews was the most important thing, and of course I no longer have that.

It will be interesting to see how I adapt to my new life.  After this weekend I feel like I will have more time and focus on what is to come and what do do. It will be an interesting challenge!

Susan

Black HIlls Day 7: Needles HIghway and Iron Mountain Road

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A huge storm passed over us at about 9:30 last night, heavy rain, with thunder and lightning.  It was so threatening that we hauled out our flashlights just in case....

Lay in bed trying to decide whether to get up or not when I saw a deer walk by our bedroom window!

The storm had the lovely effect of changing the weather, down from the mid-90s to the upper 70s.

Left the house sometime after eight am and took the Needles Highway south, a Scenic Bypass.  Started out as a lovely but typical mountain road, but eventually we did some impressive climbing.  First stop at Legion Lake, where we started seeing the first rock outcroppings – the Needles.

 Lovely forest and views, incredibly large boulders and cliffs, sharp switchbacks and steep climbs.  Just as glad Norbert was driving!

At the very top of the road (climb) is a longish one-lane tunnel, plus of course an impressive outlook.  Also the Eye of the Needle, a small slit in a rock.  Well, maybe not so small.

Stopped at the entrance of the tunnel and took photos all around.  Watch a large pick-up truck go through, they had to fold their rear-view mirrors in, it was so tight!






Finally, Norbert walked through the tunnel to photograph me driving through it.  Driving there was really cool – a wonderful experience!

Stopped again on the other side for more photos.

From there it was down the mountain with more stops at incredible views.  And incredible switchbacks!

We were back in the Custer State Park at this point, and stopped at the general store near the Lodge we had stayed at for a pit stop and coffee break.  Drove around the next bend and saw buffalo!  Literally hundreds of them, on both sides of the road, by the cabins, on the lawn of the visitor center, practically up to the Lodge parking lot and of course on the road too!

Stopped as soon as we could and took some photos, then I drove so Norbert could take pictures.  There were really hundreds of them, of all sizes.  So incredibly impressive and such an incredible experience to see them up close.

Then we exited the park and turned north on the Iron Mountain Road, me still driving.  At first it seemed like nothing more than another pretty mountain road.  But then we started climbing – lots of very slow driving today!

At one point we pulled over and there was Mt. Rushmore! So we got some photos.

This road too has tunnels, one or two of which nicely frame Mt. Rushmore. 

It also has the famous “pigtail bridges”, which are circular or semicircular structures for when the incline is too steep for a ramp or switchback. Think of the spiral ramp in a parking garage......

We drove home through Keystone, and decided to skip Mt. Rushmore.  We had seen it well from the road several times, and frankly, it had never interested us all that much anyway.

Keystone is a horror:  total tourist trap. Water slides, zipline, chainsaw art, you name it! We scooted on through but stopped at a totally rundown gift shop/cafe for lunch, where we had the best hotdogs of our whole trip. Go figure!

I picked up a city map and discovered a glass blower.  So we went in search of it, and of course by the time I figured we had taken the wrong road, we found it.  Such beautiful things!  Very delicate and lovely colors. Norbert bought me a beautiful pink bowl, which will go in my hand baggage.

Home and a rest.

Later we drove back towards Rapid City, to Reptile Gardens.

 Overall it was a disappointment. The grounds and gardens were beautiful, but I thought they just didn't have that many animals, and that the cages/enclosures were on the small side. There was a prairie dog village which was nice (I have quite lost my heart to the little darlings).

 There were two Galapagos Tortoises whose necks you could pet. (And yes, they are huge!)

There is also a large dome with free-roaming critters, including one lizard who obligingly posed on the walkway for us.

We finished it off by watching the alligator/crocodile show, which was good.

Stopped at the grocery store for some ham steaks to throw on the grill.

Badlands and Black HIlls: Days 5 & 6: Lead and Spearfish Canyon

Sunday, 14 August, we took as more or less a day off. Met some friends, goofed off. The most notable event of the day was some fresh corn we bought, which is probably the best corn on the cob I have ever eaten in my life.

Monday, 15 August

Left home shortly after eight and headed north. We drove up to Lead, passing by Roubaix (are we in France?).

The road takes you right through downtown Lead, which is pronounced “Leed” and not “Led”, which I had not known. It was the home of the Homestake Gold Mine, the largest gold mine in the US, which closed in 2001 after 120 years of operation.

It reminded Norbert very much of his hometown, which was based around the Sophia-Jacoba coal mine.  The mine basically was the town.  It provided housing, schools, social life and amenities, hospital, stores and everything.  Even much of the mining procedure was familiar to him.

We stopped at the visitors center and signed up for the tour. We first saw the Open Cut, where they mined like a quarry.  It was huge!

Then we boarded a trolley which took us around the city.

 It is exactly one mile high, like Denver, which they say “stole” that title, so they are “the Mile-High city with a heart of gold”. It is a mountain city, that is for sure! Lots of up and downs.

We ended up at the gold mine, which closed 10 years ago. It is now being transformed into a science center, with a neutrino lab way down underground. Don't ask me to explain the details!

From there we headed to the Spearfish Canyon and the scenic drive. It is a narrow canyon with a stream running along the bottom. It is quite lovely surrounded by beautiful cliffs and stone mountains.

We stopped at Roughlock Falls and drove up a gravel road to the end. We then followed the stream down to the falls, stopping along the way for lots of photos! Lovely! The water was cold, but not icy, and we saw fish in it.

 
From there we continued north to Savoy where we stopped for lunch. Norbert had a cup of chili and pulled pork BBQ sandwich, and I had a cheeseburger sandwich.

The canyon finally came to an end in Spearfish and the interstate, but we continued north to Belle Fourche, where with a bit of difficulty we found the marker for the geographical center of the US. (The actual geographic center is really off in some corn field, so they picked a nice place by the visitor center for the marker.)

 From there we drove home – it was a long day, since we got home about 3:30. A hot day too, up in the mid-90s.

I darted out a bit later and visited a quilt store and Christmas store.  The latter had so much --- well let's just say things that weren't my taste! But I did find a nice leather buffalo ornament allegedly handmade by Sioux Indians.

Leftovers for dinner tonight, bratwurst for N and chicken for me.

Badlands/Black HIlls Day 4: Buffalos and Mammoths

Saturday, August 13

Wanted a small breakfast but when we got to the Lodge restaurant, we decided for the buffet.  It was not cheap but well worth it.  Probably the best breakfast buffet I have ever had in the US.  So we had a big breakfast to tide us over.

We wanted to head south for the day and went via the Wildlife Loop.  We were close to the intersection to turn on to the Loop when we stopped by a large herd of Buffalo on both sides of the road and crossing the road. Sat there for a long time watching and snapping pictures.

 I loved watching them go down to the creek to drink.

We saw a small herd of deer along the way, so we stopped there too.  They smelled us so they dashed across the road so that they were upwind from us. 

As we continued along we saw prairie dogs, lots of deer, another buffalo herd (from a distance) and the mules again.

We exited the park and turned south.  Apparently the Wind Cave National Park is directly next to the Custer State Park.  Lots more beautiful prairies and mountains.  Again, saw deer, and buffalo up in the woods.  As we turned into the visitors center driveway, we saw a prairie dog colony and of course had to stop for photos.

Took a short tour almost immediately.  Was surprised to hear it took a whole hour, as the time went so fast.  This is the seventh national park to be established and the fifth largest cave system in the US, possibly the world.

They are as proud of their stewardship of the plains (22,000 acres) and the animals as they are of the cave.  Lovely, lovely area.

From there we decided to head on south to Hot Springs where we stopped at a gas station mini-mart to buy a cola and a sandwich. 

We continued on to The Mammoth Site.  We ate our sandwich with fritos from last night at a nicely shaded picnic table n the grounds.

In 1974 a developer was grading land to build houses when he ran across some bones.  It turned out to be the “grave” of so far 67 mammoths.  They are still being excavated. 

How did they end up there?  It was a sinkhole, filled with hot water, so that grass grew year round.  They went to eat it, fell in and couldn't get out due to the slick shale sides, so that they either drowned or died of exhaustion.

 
All were male and almost all were the mammoth equivalent of teen agers.  I'm sure there is a moral in there, but far be it for me – as the mother of a male teen ager – to draw it.  (cough cough).

We headed west and then north, through Pringle (not the home of the same-named potato chip).    South of Custer you can see the Crazy Horse sculpture from the road, that was enough for us. then on to Custer and drove on through to Hill City.

 It was FULL of motorcyclists.  We found a parking place and walked up and back down the main street.  We got an ice cream and sat outside and watched the people – fascinating!

From there we went east a bit to find our cabin. We ran into the owner walking out as we walked in.  It is lovely, and bigger than I had expected.  Not huge but certainly big enough for two! (Photos are terrible, but give the idea of the cabin.)

After goofing off for a while we went to the very close grocery store.  Bought two steaks, some yellow rice and a veg for dinner.  Norbert fired up the gas grill for the steaks and I did the inside things.

A nice dinner and then a lazy evening.