CHAOS!

I tell ya, everything always happens at once.

First, my dear cat falls ill and declines. Increasingly frequent trips to the vet make the choice obvious. This past Friday morning, the very day our Gus was to make his last car ride, we found him lying still on the kitchen floor, next to his food bowl and the trash can that he loved to sit on. It was a sad relief to not have to take him to a cold, bright examining room for his last moments. He wasn't that old at about 12 and a half, but we think he had one or more strokes in the last few weeks.

Sad as that was, there was no time to feel bad, as our kitchen is no more. The remains of the horrid thing are in a dumpster in our driveway, and we're doing dishes in the bathtub until we have a new kitchen. With lots of structural work to do, it's not going to be real soon, but when it's done we'll have a real, solid, decent kitchen to live in and sell with the house. Day 1 pictures are here:

http://candidartistry.smugmug.com/gallery/1677153

The twist to the kitchen is that I've elected, quite insanely, to make my own cabinets. They're not overly complicated, but they do have to be done before we can have a sink again, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Naturally, this is putting a kink in the bike time. My last solo ride was over a week ago, and I've missed the last couple Thursday rides as well. I did, though, have a good time on the Holland Hundred on Saturday the 15th. I rode mostly with a couple of co-workers, and covered the 102ish miles in about 6 hours and 20 minutes. It was a pretty hot day, but not to the point of feeling dangerous, and I carried lots of water. The course was nice, heading more or less South all the way through Allegan county and then back up the lakeshore. It was no where near as challenging as the Asheville century - my legs were tired the next day, but not particularly sore. Incedentally, I'm at 1056 miles for the year now.

And work is the busiest it's ever been, pretty much, so I'd best get back to it!