zip strips are holding us down and keeping us stationary!

I know we have much more serious issues facing us, but here's an annoying little thing in our lives.  In July, we returned home from a getaway with our bikes safely attached to our car.  After taking them off the bike rack, we somehow lost our bag of plastic clips that attach the bikes to the rack.    We realized they were gone in August.  We've searched and organized the basement, but I think we must have left them outside or on the car perhaps.  In any case, they are literally impossible to buy and this is the first time we've ever encountered this in our spoiled little lives.

We ordered them in August and they were supposed to come in October, and now that site says they will come in March.   We ordered some more on Amazon, but we are pretty sure they are just lying about having them in stock as the shipment is just inexplicably delayed now.

We've tied the bikes on to the rack once but it was pretty hard and time consuming and still didn't feel very secure.  Considering that it takes us a really long time to just load the bikes, drive somewhere and unload them, even at the best of times, we will be riding from home for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, considering the shortage of all things bike related, we did have a lot of good bike buying luck this year.  I bought a new bike in January,  just before the bottom dropped out. In addition to the uber feminine "acid strawberry" color, it has frame dimensions for women, which I've learned is essential for me  (no more reaching way forward for the handlebars, while having the seat all the way up).

The kids are growing like weeds so we've been changing bike set ups a lot.   In April we got D a used bike for a good price that was borderline too big (24" wheels), but a month later seemed just right for him.  Within a couple of months he was shifting gears pretty well.  Dd showed that he had outgrown the Burley trailer by being able to stick his foot out to reach the back tire of the parent towing him, or smooshing the side of the trailer so that the wheel rubbed.  So we sold that and bought and bought a used Weehoo trailer, also in April. Then in August we bought D a really nice used  (Burley piccolo) ride-along for a great price as well.  It is way more stable than the $40 ride along we bought last year and can fit him for a few years.  It even has gears!   With both kids in trailers we can safely ride from home.

Soos Creek trail in January.  D is on the ride-along because there were hills and he didn't have a gear bike yet.

First time on the big bike on the Green River trail in April

We did the Green River trail again

This was the last trip where we had the clips, in July.

We rode in Yelm in July

Dd started on D's old strider bike.

Riding in our neighborhood in October with D on the new ride-along

kitchen upgrades

We’ve been cooking more than ever during this pandemic.  Jack and I went on a dinner date in February and we get takeout every other week or maybe less.  It always seems like a good idea when we're busy, but then the money and time it takes to decide what to get, to order it and maybe to pick it up often doesn't feel like that much of a time saver.  

Restaurants have been open in King County with lots of restrictions, but they don't sound appealing, especially with the kids.  A year ago, my favorite place to eat was the Whole Foods hot food bar, but that is also not a realistic option these days.

Anyway, we like to double recipes and cook big portions so we've now outgrown several kitchen things.  The instant pot doesn't build up pressure if it is more than about 2/3 full and literally not being able to stir a soup in the dutch oven for lack of space is quite annoying.  If you make a one pot meal, it has to be a pretty big pot :)

Happily we were able to sell our 6 quart Instant Pot and put the money towards a 10 quart model.  My goal is to use it every day so that Jack won't put it away in the cupboard.

We also used our 4 cup glass measuring cup so much that all of the lines and numbers wore off and when I went to replace it I saw an 8 cup measuring cup with a lid, so I went with that.  It's great.

Lastly, we just welcomed our 13.25 quart cauldron, which we considered for about six months before finally seeing a real sale on the non-doll-house-sized le creusets!