April Showers

Happy Spring!  Between gardening, biking, and traveling, April has been a busy month in our household!

As there is still a risk of frost overnight, my garden remains indoors for a few more weeks, but I'm starting to see some sprouting seeds!  My rhubarb, peppers, and cherry tomatoes sure are determined little creatures.  I haven't seen much from my regular tomatoes or carrots yet, but as long as a few of my plants grow I'll be satisfied.  We did have a small incident the other day involving a dog and a cat who thought they were master gardeners.  (They no longer have access to the sunny front bedroom.)


Baby tomatoes!

Rhubarb and peppers

Kua watches closely over her crops

Man down!

I got a late start on training for the Half Century (50 mile) bike ride this year because I didn't sign up for my usual spin class, but I squeezed in a 30-miler earlier this week and I'm determined to get back on track with a training schedule before the May 22nd event!  Spring in Santa Fe poses a challenge for biking because of temperature fluctuations and extreme wind bursts most afternoons, but I'm hoping for nicer weather come mid-May.  I also look forward to partaking in some of the other events in Santa Fe's unique Bike and Brew weekend.  Biking, beer, music... what more does one need?!  Jaycob has been mountain biking a lot (La Tierra trails and Atalaya mountain, among other locations) and just completed his first of many XTERRA off-road triathlons of the season.  He is a complete all-star and placed 4th in his very competitive age group.  Great start to racing season!


30 miler from Santa Fe to Eldorado


At home I also started a new knitting project.  I've seen so many of these "temperature afghans" on Pinterest and feel inspired to create my own.  The idea is to knit a row each day, the color of which is determined by that day's temperature.  The result is a random spectrum of colors representing the climate of the year.  I decided to go with 10 different colors representing the rainbow of "temperatures" from Cranberry and Terracotta to Eggplant and Colonial Blue.  I'm excited to see how it turns out!


Temperature afghan


Last weekend I traveled home to Minnesota for the first time in about a year and a half.  It was so wonderful to see my parents, explore my mom's new neighborhood in Cathedral Hill in St. Paul, catch up with some girlfriends over "cocktails and mocktails," listen to my dad play music, and spend time with a few of my relatives.  The highlight of the weekend was my future sister-in-law's gorgeous bridal shower!  It was a warm, sunny afternoon on Lake Minnetonka and everything was absolutely perfect for her day.  I am so thrilled for my brother's upcoming wedding over Labor Day weekend!


Cupcakes for the Bride to Be

Lovely afternoon on the lake

Stunning decor


The bad news of the weekend was landing in Minneapolis and simultaneously hearing about the unexpected death of Prince.  Prince was a hero to our city and the mood was somber as Minnesotans mourned the death of our local icon.  He was brilliant, creative, and inspirational, and I can't even begin to pay him tribute in this small post, but I can say with confidence that the Minneapolis music scene will never be the same in his absence.  I loved this quote from the Minneapolis mayor in our local paper: 

"Prince was a child of our city, and his love of his hometown permeated many of his songs,”  Mayor Betsy Hodges said.  "Our pride in his accomplishments permeates our love of Minneapolis... Prince never left us, and we never left him." 

Target Field showing its true colors (photo from RollingStone.com)

Purple Minneapolis in honor of Prince (photo from Fox local news)

First Ave. music club (photo from Bring Me The News)


It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences in the past few weeks!  Team Ross looks forward to a 5K and mountain bike race this coming weekend, and stay tuned for a book club update and dessert recipe in the near future!




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