First off, I have to tell you, our lovely dog, Reisha, got sprayed by a skunk, in our own back yard, notheless. Poor thing. She really did not know what hit her! As I was driving home from Parent Teacher Conferences (a day where I am at work for 14 hours straight with only 25 minutes for lunch and no other breaks) I get a rapid succession of phone calls.All of them urgent. "Mom, Reisha's been skunked!!! She is upset. Her eyes are red and droopy and she is drooling!" "Mom, its bad. Leave now!" "Tam, Reisha can't come in the house. You know what happened, right? Tomato juice only masks the odor. " You get the idea. I call Ellie back and tell her I will get stuff to clean her off. Our neighbor's dog has been skunked three times of late. They figured out that the Goop cuts the oil from the skunk spray.
It took me three stores before I found someplace that was open past nine at night where I could purchase more Goop. By the time I arrived Midge, our neighbor with the knowledge and experience, was there helping the kids clean up the poor dog. She looked so pathetic. The kids and Midge worked quickly and with care. Instead of rinsing her with the garden hose they brought out buckets of warm water. I imagine Reisha was reminded that she is so very loved. However, she did not feel so loved when she was not allowed to go upstairs to bed. Instead she had to sleep on the main floor where there is no carpet. Ellie slept on the couch in the big room in order to offer some comfort. When we went to bed the back yard was litered with tufts of dog hair and perfumed with skunk. Mother Nature delivered a windy night that blew much of that way. What a relief!
This past weekend we did less biking than usual. The race on Saturday was not a Best Cross Racer/Team race and the kids were tired, so we stayed home. It was really kind of nice. They slept in until pretty late. I made some food for the week and picked up the house. We've had so many weekends where we are gone all weekend that I forget how much can be done in a single day at home. Just as we were getting ready to go to bed Ellie got an inch long piece of metal wire in her foot. We pulled it out quickly, but it still really hurt.
Sunday morning we were on the road at about 5:00 a.m. so that we could make it to Buena Vista by 7:45. I fretted a bit about driving in the mountains in the dark. I thought it might be difficult since it was so early in the morning. I found, much to my surprise, that it was quite lovely. The stars were twinkling and the sky was clear. It was kind of magical. As I drove deeper into the mountains the sun began peaking over the mountain tops. Once I reached the top of Kenosha Pass I was able to bask in the glory of the trees set ablaze they the pink sunrise. The quacking gold on the Aspen trees was at its finest. A gentle breeze tumbled through the air. I rounded the bend to take in the open space of South Park. On my right the ponies scampered while the adult horses quietly grazed. On my left groups of antelope meandered in there journeys to some unknown location. With time to spare, we pulled into Bango Billy's for coffee and fresh cinnamon rolls. By that time Ellie was awake and lamenting that her foot still hurt. "My foot hurts and I need a break from racing. I don't want you to ask me a thousand times if I am sure that I don't want to race," she whined. She was even too grumpy to come into the coffee shop. Shortly there after we arrived at the "Cross at the River" race. It is a new venue that we were excited to try. It was a great course with some steep berms to climb over, woodsy paths, wide open spaces, tight turns and excellent barriers. It felt really weird just registering one kid instead of two. Ethan was the only one in his category so he thought he would take it easy, feeling like it was a guaranteed win. So he toddled instead of raced. He went fast when people were near. Otherwise, he took his time. Little did he know that 11 year old dynamo, Cade, had decided to race up and was in his category. Once results were posted he was chagrined to find that Cade beat him. When they called people up to the podium Cade had to stand on a large rock to receive his first place prize, a brand new Rudy Project helmet. Ethan was gracious and was cool about it. However, I don't think that will ever happen again. He could have easily taken the whole field of all of the racers on the course if he had only tried. Driving home we discussed the race. Ellie regretted not racing, just as I knew she would. Ethan regretted not taking it seriously. Ellie was still tired and she managed hurt her leg when she was playing around on her bike. By the time we were driving home she was full of bruises and a few large bumps. It makes me wonder if she is getting ready for another growing spurt.
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On a completely different note, here's a video that I think is pretty incredible. It is from Ukraine's Got Talent. The 24 year old artist displays her interpretation of the German invasion during WWII.
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