Fall days....

This kinda sums up the Bronco's year so far.          The blow-up Bronco man has had issues the last few years....not sure if it's a slow leak or just old age.....he's about 12 years old and his skin is crinkly and yellowing ( as one does ).   

We managed to tie him to the garage door but ......... we'll try again on Sunday. 

  If you chop a lot of veggies, you need this little gadget.    Jenna first gifted me one and I was hooked.   It chops veggies quickly and easily in two different sizes.    I managed to break the first one using it on the granite and whacking the chopping lid down hard....my 2nd one sits on a cutting board to absorb the blows.       I make my 'chili' every 5-6 days and we have it for lunch, Every. Single. Day.    I chop up the sweet potatoes, onion, yukon potatoes, add black, red and cannellini beans, corn,  Rotel, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, veggie broth and Taco seasoning and let it cook in the Instapot for 12 min and call it done.   Great over rice, pasta, various noodles or plain.   

And when he's not coming in 2nd in the Pickleball round robin tournament  ( in 3.5 division and being the oldest ), or not golfing or bike riding , he's busy in the garage making this perfect rolling door / bookshelf for an upstairs closet with no door ( not sure why but it came that way).    He can fix most anything....even me , sometimes... 

I explored a new bike route today.    I had to cross a large field on a dirt path.   The path was soft deep dirt and was easy to bogged down in.    The advantage of a pedal assist bike is that I put it in the first assist and it helps me move faster through it.   I didn't enjoy it at all but it got me to a straight long country road with a serious hill.    I made it up the hill (breathing very hard and relieved  to reach the top) and then had to come down which I don't like doing...... too steep for my taste but I have good brakes on the bike.    I also managed to hit over 500 miles on the odometer.   I've had the bike a year and about 350 of those miles have been this summer. 

 

And, I've been reading ..... Ken Follett wrote a prequel to his "Pillars of the Earth" trilogy.   It's over 900 pages,  " The Evening and the Morning", and got good reviews.    I know that I am a book snob (and a yarn snob) but I like rich writing.   And this is not that.   It's a good story but simply written and a quick read.    I just finished "The Vanishing Half" and give it 5 stars.    Excellent in every way.   My favorite of the summer is still " Hamlet" and I plan to reread it.      I'm still reading "The Warmth of Other Suns" but it is a bit of a slower read..... and very well written.  

Our leaves are turning, our days are shorter, fall is in the air and the hummingbirds have started their long journey south.    And it's perfect biking weather.