New pedals for the bike

OK, yes, I know these are pictures of biking shoes and not pedals. The point is that I've ditched my old toe clips and moved up in the biking world.

For those unknown to all things cycling, you can buy cycling shoes that have cleats on the bottom of the shoe that hook into special bike pedals - much more efficient than just those toe clips that slip in. Sounds like an extravagance, but it shaves time off the daily commutes like you wouldn't believe.

Jetta gets an owie

Yes, I know I just bought this car - but bad things happen to good cars.

Turns out I was coming out of the driveway, didn't look very well, and ended up hitting the corner of another woman's car - yipes. Although the damage wasn't that significant, it did take five weeks to repair - thanks over-engineering Germans.

Even though I was without a car for that long period of time, it wasn't that big of a deal, since I ride my bike to work anyway. And since I was getting $35 a day for a rental or inconvenience of not having a car - I ended up making money on the deal even with the deductible taken out. Just hoping my rates stay down.

The First Tomato of the Season

Sorry to be so excited about tomatoes - but this is the first one of the season.

Found a variety that works well in containers, so this bad boy is sitting off our balcony - quite amazing what you can grow in a four by eight foot space.

Asiatic Lillies are Blooming

One of my favorite flowers in the garden - not sure why, but probably because their fragrance is so sweet.

They are actually quite large - six foot stems. And we got them years ago from Kelly Lowe, whoc was just in town from Alaska for a conference. Unfortunately, she missed them bloom by just one day.