Weekly Mileage #133 and Cooler Weather At Last

I didn't sleep well Sunday night, so had to drink an energy drink to get through the day Monday. It made me more alert, though I could still feel the tired under it all. By late afternoon I was feeling pretty crummy though. Definitely not something I want to do on a regular basis.

We celebrated River's birthday a few days late since Jeremy had drill over the weekend. Sunshine and I made an orange cake, as requested. One of her classes this year is to learn cake decorating, and this was our first project. It didn't turn out as I'd hoped, which I blame on the cake mix, not my lack of attention to detail ;) I forgot to check the box to see what size cake it made while I was out running errands. At the next store I went to, I thought of it, but they didn't have the same brand. The brand they did have made two 8inch cakes, so I figured I was good. Nope.

River got his first "big bike"

River wanted a 2 layer orange cake with sprinkles in the middle. I interpreted the sprinkles to be Skittles, pouring out of a hole in the middle when you cut into the cake. That didn't end up happening, as the cream cheese frosting between the layers thinned out way too much when I added mandarin oranges to it. We ended up cutting the cakes in half to get the height it should have had, so it looked a bit like a orange segment, if you squint.

Let's just say it was a learning experience and we now have a baseline to work from. And we won't be adding oranges to frosting again.

I'd already started moving things around when I remembered to take a picture

On Wednesday I took advantage of weather that is finally cooler, and spent some time working outside. This meant a couple hours clearing up the underside of the treehouse and leveling the cinderblocks that will support the framework of the new floor under the upper level of the treehouse. I've wanted to build a floor there since we finished the treehouse originally, but didn't have the time or money to do so. If I stay on point, I've got time to squeeze it in before it gets too cold. I logged a bit more than a mile walking around, moving stuff, and digging in the dirt.

River helped dig in the cinder blocks

working around rocks and roots was a pain

On Thursday Sunshine and I loaded the wood that's been drying in a stack in our driveway into the trailer and re-stacked it by the treehouse. It took 5 or 6 trips, but we moved it all. Now we have 2x4 stock for framing and 1" planks ready for building. After I do the floor, I'll build a house on the upper level, per Sunshine's request. I logged almost two miles loading and unloading all that lumber.

Friday morning we met with some local homeschoolers for games and play time. I knew a couple of the families, but didn't realize that we had quite so many in our immediate area. Most of our homeschool interactions have been with families that live in town or even south of town.

That evening I drove Sunshine and her friend to a Scout Camporee. I thought about spending the night and running the 5k in the morning, but I haven't been sleeping well all week and have just been too tired.

Instead of running the 5k (which I ran here and here) Saturday morning, I helped with an Eagle project.

That's an upside down view of Warren the Charity Bear. Those of us who know how to sew sewed a bunch of them (first the details, then front and back after embroidery) and others embroidered faces, stuffed, and sewed closed. They'll be donated to the local children's hospital.

After that, I headed home and worked on a Halloween costume while running designs I worked on earlier in the week through my GlowForge.

a wood pennant banner (masking still on, no twine/ribbon connecting them)

masking still on a possible ornament design

A banjo or guitar strap pad. It's a bit charred because I didn't run some sample cuts first, and this is the first time I've used this leather in the GlowForge.

Saturday evening I picked up the girls from their camporee and I discovered that several swallows of an energy drink will last about 2 hours (ie, increase my level of alertness) before wearing off. And it wasn't enough to keep me up at night. Score!

Sunshine throwing a javelin at the camporee (it had a gladiator theme)

Weekly Mileage
Wednesday- 1.15 miles walked
Thursday- 1.95 miles walked
total- 3.10 miles

20 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.56 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

95.45 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
41.16 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
80.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
219.17 miles total