Fame at last!

Quite a while ago, I was interviewed by someone at work for the internal staff newsletter. I had all but forgotten about it until suddenly one of my students tagged me in a message in our course Teams group with a link to the just published staff magazine. Now I'm famous! Or possibly not... Not...

Knitting in unlikely places

I'm always knitting, though usually only while sitting down. But with so many knitting orders to keep up with, I started also knitting while walking or hiking. I can only do that with fairly simple patterns, and it does make me walk more slowly. But it did mean a few more extra hours available for...

Happy New Year!

New year, New me? Not really. I've never been big on new year's resolutions. They are just a recipe for disappointment when you inevitably fail to live up to them. However, that doesn't mean I don't have plans or hopes for the new year. And this year my plans and hopes are rather ambitious. Plans...

How do you find the time for all that knitting and cycling?

The short answer is I don't always. Finding time for knitting and cycling on top of full time job and general life is a challenge. There are many competing demands, and spending time knitting or cycling on my own can feel very selfish at times. I often get asked how I can have time for...

When I really became aware of the Aids epidemic

This time, the story I want to tell is about the time when I really took notice of the Aids epidemic, when I first noticed direct evidence of the widespread societal impacts of the epidemic. Back in 1998, I had the opportunity to go to Botswana for three months to do some fieldwork for my...

New pattern and the design process

Last time I went home to visit the family, my mom gave me a big bag of yarn she had found on sale. She thought I might be able to use it for my knitting fundraising in some way. The yarn was Drops Lima, a DK weight wool and alpaca blend. It is thick, warm,...

Enlisting more help – getting comfortable

A little while ago I wrote a post about enlisting help on my AIDSLifeCycle journey, and I need all the help I can get. This time what I needed help with was getting more comfortable on the bike. Cycling 545 miles means many hours in the saddle, not just on the ride but in training...

What’s your motivation?

Some days getting out the door for a training ride is a breeze. Days when the sun is shining, energy levels are good, and I've got time to enjoy the ride. But then there are days that are harder. Wet and windy days. Long days at work when it's dark by the time I can...

What’s going on?

Lately I've been feeling a little flat and uninspired and very tired. Looking at people around me, it seems like most of them are too. Everyone is complaining about how tired they are, everyone appears to be a little down or annoyed or stressed. It's like there's a dark cloud of gloom hanging over everyone,...

Best laid plans….

Getting ready for a 545 mile bike ride is going to take some effort even if I have done it before. So at the start of September, I got some help to make a training plan. And for the first couple of weeks, everything was going well. Cycling 3-4 days a week, gym weekly and...