Joni Brandt Siebenlist

2012-02-07T18:52:00.000-06:00

It snowed about 5 inches while I was gone on Saturday. A lot of it has already melted but today was picture perfect!

2012-02-06T18:25:00.000-06:00

Mother sent me this photo she took. Gotta love the coots at the lake! They must be enjoying the morning sun shining on them and a rest out of the cold water.

2012-02-05T18:58:00.000-06:00

Thule is cuddling with Kristin as we all enjoy our new living room furniture!

2012-02-04T19:03:00.001-06:00

I wasn't going to purchase any super bowl souvenirs but they were marked down already! I got 2 of these mugs.

2012-02-03T19:09:00.000-06:00

Instead of buying souvenirs, I decided to take photos instead!

2012-02-02T19:15:00.000-06:00

Another great day on the bike trail. It was still in the high 50's with partly cloudy skies. I rode another 25 miles today.

2012-02-01T19:20:00.000-06:00

For my first full day in Indy, I was welcomed with temperatures in the mid 50's! I rode about 30 miles from home up until the trail turned to gravel. There were quite a few people out enjoying the weather.

2012-01-31T20:00:00.001-06:00

It was another beautiful January day. I made all the spoiled cats spend the day outside in hopes of easing their cabin fever.

2012-01-30T20:06:00.000-06:00

The high temperature for today was 65 degrees, breaking the previous record of 61. Unfortunately, I had to work but was able to get home soon enough to take the dogs for a long walk.

2012-01-29T20:13:00.000-06:00

I found several of these envelopes containing Sierra's teeth that she left for the tooth fairy. I'm glad she took the time to date this one. Classic Sierra...........I am sooo glad I found these!

2012-01-21T19:56:00.000-06:00

Got my hairs cut today and Kim insisted on a curl!

2012-01-19T18:10:00.000-06:00

Mother sent me this photo today. WOW, the hosta is very happy and I can't believe how fast it is growing in the sunny, warm, south window.

2012-01-18T18:05:00.000-06:00

Just found this article on line today of Sierra's state championship win from December 19. She gave me credit for being her mechanic and pit crew!

2012-01-14T18:28:00.000-06:00

Mother sent me this photo of a sunset from last week. She takes photos of sunsets regularly and this is one of the most beautiful that I've seen!

2012-01-13T17:15:00.000-06:00

I found these 2 twenty dollar bills at the bottom of a bag containing an unfinished crocheting project. My guess is that it has been there for at least 7 years!

2012-01-12T17:21:00.000-06:00

Here's my new favorite salad: spinach, dried cranberries, almonds, red onion with raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

2012-01-11T17:26:00.000-06:00

The plants are very happy at Mother's house. We took down the curtain, cleaned the window and now the hosta has appeared, the ivy is growing new leaves and the vinca vine is flowering.

2012-01-10T17:32:00.000-06:00

Mother sent me these very interesting ice photos from the cove at the lake.

2012-01-09T17:45:00.000-06:00

Frosty morning is all to be said.........

2012-01-08T18:00:00.000-06:00

Sierra raced with the Elite Women at Cyclocross Nationals today in Verona, WI. She was very excited to be able to race with such a large field of women!

2012-01-07T18:07:00.000-06:00

Here's Sierra getting ready to pre-ride the cyclocross course for tomorrow's race. It was about 36 degrees with the wind out of the west at about 20 mph. Since the sun was out, the frozen ruts were thawing out making for a slippery mud fest.

2012-01-06T18:15:00.000-06:00

As a Christmas gift, I got Kristin 2 tickets to the Black Keys concert on March 16 in Indianapolis. When the new Rolling Stone arrived, I sent her a photo of it.

2012-01-05T18:22:00.000-06:00

WOW, the high temperature for today was 65! And, I had the day off from work. It was a record breaker, the previous record high on this day was 59 in 1956. I had to ride Rich's bike since I left mine in Indianapolis.

2012-01-04T18:41:00.000-06:00

Salad time!

2012-01-01T18:46:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a perfect photo for January 1, 2012. A new flower on the vinca vine in a ceramic pot that I had taken to Mother's house for the winter.

2011-12-31T19:30:00.000-06:00

I drove down to Mother's today and we had lunch at Applebee's and then went grocery shopping. This VW bug was in the parking lot, it looked about the same year as the one I drove in high school. It had a special "antique" license plate! What does that make me?

2011-12-30T19:00:00.000-06:00

While going through belongings, I found this 20,000 words book. I've had it since I took office occupations class in high school. I decided to keep it awhile longer since I've been playing words with friends with Kristin and Sierra. I thought it might come in handy.

2011-12-29T20:27:00.000-06:00

I have no photos today. It is Sierra's 25th birthday and she didn't take any photos for me, soooo sad.

2011-12-28T19:08:00.000-06:00

Here's what happens when you don't pay attention to the microwave oven while heating up your chocolate kiss cookie! Luckily, Tena's little fire didn't cause the smoke detectors to go off while at work today.

2011-12-27T19:21:00.001-06:00

The time finally came to get rid of this old chest. Sierra had been using it in Indianapolis. It has been around since I was a little girl. I am pretty sure that Daddy built it for us from a kit.

2011-12-26T19:29:00.001-06:00

Charlie loves laying outside in his soft bed of pine needles. We got home from Indianapolis this afternoon and the weather was nice enough for him to want to stay outside for awhile.

2011-12-25T19:37:00.000-06:00

Kristin gave me this ornament as a Christmas gift. She did her part in the shop local movement and found this in a boutique in Broad Ripple.

2011-12-24T19:43:00.000-06:00

We had our Christmas celebration today. The big hit was Kristin's gift to Sierra - a Kindle Fire. I don't think Sierra put it down until bedtime!

2011-12-23T19:47:00.000-06:00

I managed to save Wayne's world famous chex mix until today! It didn't last long with all of us diving in.

2011-12-22T21:22:00.000-06:00

Here's more memorabilia from the old clothes storage. Grandma Joyce hand painted these sweatshirts for Kristin when she was around 13 years old.

2011-12-21T18:52:00.000-06:00

This was our last week together in credentialed training at work. We went to each site to check out the training classrooms and then went for lunch at Zombie Burger in the East Village.

2011-12-20T18:59:00.000-06:00

Kristin sent me this photo today. She and a coworker were getting ready to go into surgery to perform patient neuro monitoring.

2011-12-19T19:02:00.000-06:00

Tyler sent me this photo today of a Rudge bicycle. He said it was vintage campy record, 4 speed hub with flip flop fixed. He said a guy brought it into the shop and was fixing it up for a man who bought it in England and brought it to the USA. It had a generator front hub, Brooks saddle and all the bells and whistles. I googled Rudge and thought it probably was a 1960 or 70's bicycle.

2011-12-18T21:10:00.000-06:00

Here's another find from the old clothes storage. If I remember correctly, our friend Tony had this t-shirt airbrushed for Rich. It is dated 1992 and must have been given to us shortly after we got our custom painted tandem.

2011-12-17T18:54:00.000-06:00

Sierra won the Indiana State Cyclocross race today!

2011-12-16T19:07:00.000-06:00

I brought this vest for Sierra to wear to school today. She said the kids really enjoyed it! It would also be great for one of those tacky sweater holiday parties!

2011-12-15T19:13:00.000-06:00

Wayne's famous chex mix arrived in the mail today. I am going to hide it in order for it to be around for Christmas and for the rest of the family's enjoyment!

2011-12-14T20:55:00.000-06:00

I found this little sweatshirt in some of the girls' old clothes. I used cross stitch waste canvas for the cute little bunny. The shirt is so small and soft; I am going to keep it to remind me of when the girls were just toddlers.

2011-12-13T20:32:00.001-06:00

Mother sent me this photo today to show me how she's been able to enjoy the mallards and other ducks in the cove. Since the weather has been warmer so far this year, the cove hasn't frozen over yet.

2011-12-12T19:18:00.000-06:00

While going through old Christmas decorations, I found this Santa troll. I am going to wrap it up and give to Kristin as a Christmas gift!

2011-12-11T19:26:00.001-06:00

Here's Sierra racing in the PAX Gray Goat in the Backyard Cross race. It looks like she is having a great time and got 5th place today!

2011-12-10T19:31:00.000-06:00

After enjoying food from the West Coast Tacos food truck in Indy, I decided to try making a similar treat. They ended up being pretty tasty!

2011-12-08T19:38:00.000-06:00

Today, I found this pair of miniature wooden shoes that we got when we were in Holland in July of 2004.

2011-12-07T19:37:00.000-06:00

We are trying to increase the amount of my favorite new plant from the summer. At this rate, we should have several new pots of plants to enjoy next year!

2011-12-06T19:42:00.000-06:00

I found this drawing in a small spiral notebook. It looks like something that Kristin drew while in high school.

2011-12-05T19:46:00.000-06:00

I took a sample of oatmeal that I got at a cyclocross race down to Mother's house. We had some and she liked it so much that she made it part of her next Amazon order.

2011-12-04T20:27:00.000-06:00

Even when it is cold out, Chase still wants to have the ball thrown into the lake so he can get in!

2011-12-03T19:55:00.002-06:00

Sierra raced today at the Nuvo CX race at MTV. She got 5th place, it looks like the course was a little muddy, she should have been happy!

2011-12-02T20:21:00.000-06:00

This mouse gave Mother quite a fit. He was trapped by his jaw and carried the trap around the house in places she could hear him banging around but couldn't reach him. He finally died in a spot that she could reach him. I guess that is one reason traps aren't the best way to get rid of the pest.

2011-12-01T19:53:00.000-06:00

I'm going straight to the store with this holiday gift of $25 thanks to my employer!

2011-11-30T19:50:00.000-06:00

Gas prices finally went down just a little, now just keep going that way please?

2011-11-28T19:45:00.000-06:00

Sierra's birthday gift - one month early!

2011-11-27T17:59:00.000-06:00

Day #3 of Jingle Cross brought lower temps with a 15-25 mph wind out of the northwest. The temp wasn't low enough to freeze the mud and the course included another tough climb up Mt. Krumpit. It was announced today that Jingle Cross included the longest run up of any race this year! Sierra crashed early in the race today while in the top 5 but was able to work her way back for a 12th place finish.

2011-11-26T17:59:00.003-06:00

Day #2 of Jingle Cross included a steady light rain for most of the day with temps in the mid 40's. Plenty of mud was included! Sierra loves the mud and made her way to a 7th place finish. We watched the elites race and I must add that Steve Tilford is amazing!

2011-11-25T18:30:00.001-06:00

Sierra and I went out to West Lakes Studios where Kim cut and styled our hair. Then we had lunch at Noodle Zoo before heading off to Iowa City. Sierra raced in the night at Day #1 of Jingle Cross and got 9th place out of a large 2/3 field of about 40 women.

2011-11-24T18:34:00.000-06:00

I got up this morning at 7:00, had the turkey in the oven at 8:00, and then mixed up the green bean casserole. Then I rode my spin bike for about 45 minutes until it was time to start basting the bird. Then I washed the potatoes and started the pumpkin chiffon pie. The turkey was done about 12:30, got the potatoes cooking and then mashed, started the gravy and crescent rolls and we ate at 1:30. After eating, I whipped up the egg whites and cream and mixed in with the pumpkin into a graham cracker crust and set in the 'fridge to chill. I then went for a wonderful hour long bike ride on the trail. The temperature today was in the low 60's!

2011-11-23T18:44:00.000-06:00

I found this t-shirt while going through old clothes. Should I keep it? Hmmmm - no.

2011-11-22T18:46:00.000-06:00

A bin full of baby blankets.......I kept a couple plus the crocheted ones.

2011-11-21T18:48:00.000-06:00

Going through old stuff that should have been thrown away long ago. Here's 8 trash bags full!

2011-11-20T18:57:00.000-06:00

Here's a photo by Chris Jones of Sierra at the Zipp CX race in Indianapolis yesterday. She got 2nd place in her category. The Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference regional cyclocross championships were also being held.

2011-11-19T19:06:00.000-06:00

I went to see Becky today (and Midnight). He is a lucky kitten! I don't think any cat has it as good as he does. Becky is so busy spoiling him rotten!

2011-11-18T19:14:00.000-06:00

I've had this cycling jersey since the mid '70s. I am going to keep it.

2011-11-17T19:19:00.000-06:00

This rudbeckia was still wanting to bloom until the hard freeze we had recently. I can't complain, it is mid November!

2011-11-16T19:21:00.000-06:00

Sierra says she may want to keep her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle skates but Kristin doesn't need to hang on to her Barbie skates!

2011-11-15T19:25:00.000-06:00

Miss Spitty doesn't sit still for photos very often!

2011-11-14T19:28:00.000-06:00

I was sorry to see this beautiful cardinal dead on the sidewalk. I'm hoping that he died of natural causes and wasn't caught by one of the cats.

2011-11-13T19:34:00.000-06:00

Rich, Kristin, and I went to Louisville, KY to watch Sierra race in the USGP cyclocross race. She got 10th place after some muscle cramping trouble.

2011-11-12T19:37:00.000-06:00

It was Kristin's 27th birthday! We had a nice lunch at Spinelli's pizzaria in Louisville. In the evening, she chose Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple for steak and frites.

2011-11-11T19:42:00.000-06:00

We are headed to Indianapolis for Kristin's birthday. We loaded up 2 book cases to relocate in Kristin's house.

2011-11-10T19:44:00.000-06:00

Not much left of the 4 inch snow we had earlier this week!

2011-11-09T19:46:00.000-06:00

I was able to get a great photo of this cardinal. He was convinced that his reflection was an intruder in his territory!

2011-11-08T19:48:00.000-06:00

One of the sweet gum trees at the lake turned this beautiful golden color this year!

2011-11-07T19:50:00.000-06:00

The oak trees at the lake showed this beautiful color of red. Some of them were almost a maroon color.

2011-11-06T19:53:00.000-06:00

Mother has had this clock for several years and I never could figure out why an atomic clock wasn't reading correctly. Since it was "fall back" time, I figured out that it just wasn't set for the correct time zone!

2011-11-05T19:56:00.000-05:00

I got up early this morning and took the dogs for a walk. As I turned the corner over by the boat ramp, I looked up and saw this bald eagle near the outlet tower. I turned around and went back to get my camera. He let me get pretty close before he got nervous and flew away.

2011-11-04T19:58:00.000-05:00

Mother and I raked leaves with the help of a huge south wind.!

2011-11-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

Camie caught this big fat mouse, then got distracted and it got away!

2011-11-02T20:03:00.000-05:00

Mother sent me this beautiful sunset photo, she is always looking for the perfect sunset!

2011-11-01T20:05:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to see what color this sweet gum tree becomes as the days go by. This fall has given some great colors so far and it isn't over yet!

2011-10-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

What a great photo this is by Jeffrey Jakucyk. Sierra placed 3rd today in Louisville, KY at the Stormin' the Greens cyclocross race in Eva Bandman Park.

2011-10-30T20:19:00.000-05:00

I found this photo of Sierra's race yesterday. She got 4th place at Lion of the Den Cyclocross in Yorktown, Indiana.

2011-10-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

It took me awhile to get a photo of this salamander I saw in the old tile drain in the basement. He kept moving back in further when he saw me but finally he stayed still long enough.

2011-10-28T17:23:00.000-05:00

Lisa made up cupcakes for our last day together. She is training to do my job while I'm gone becoming a certified trainer for a new computer system.

2011-10-27T17:18:00.000-05:00

This was National Respiratory Care Week. Our department set up a display in the atrium at our Medical Center.

2011-10-26T18:56:00.001-05:00

I found this 64 tooth chainring while house keeping. We got this in the early '90s, I think. I looked up Paragon Machine Works and it looks like they no longer make these. We got chainrings and bottom brackets from them for our Ibis Uptube Tandem.

2011-10-25T18:50:00.000-05:00

I finally got ahold of Kristin's congratulations letter. That trip to Charleston was so worth it!

2011-10-24T18:45:00.000-05:00

Kristin and I did the shopping for Sierra's cookie baking. We talked her into making oatmeal with dark chocolate chunks along with her famous chocolate chip favorites.

2011-10-23T18:39:00.000-05:00

Sierra raced today at MTV CX #1. I got lots of great photos and she got 4th today out of a tough field of her former team mates from Marian University!

2011-10-22T18:21:00.001-05:00

It is time to part with some of my bikes. I spent most of today getting my beloved 1995 Ibis Ti Mojo ready to list for sale on ebay.

2011-10-21T18:16:00.000-05:00

The SRAM rep stopped by the shop today selling some of his product. Maybe someone special will get something great for Christmas?

2011-10-20T18:07:00.000-05:00

I'm on my way to Indy today to see the kids, including this silly guy!

2011-10-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

Mother sent me this photo that she took. She said that it was just one of those gorgeous sky days!

2011-10-18T17:44:00.000-05:00

We had noticed that someone from the propane company had been out to paint the tank. It wasn't until Rich was checking the propane percentage that he found the painters had added their own signature inside the lid.

2011-10-17T18:07:00.000-05:00

Looks like Sierra got 3rd place yesterday in Bloomington, IN at Bloomingcross. I sure wish she could get someone to take a photo with a real camera!

2011-10-16T14:39:00.002-05:00

The wood that Mother and I cut from her mulberry tree is now all stacked and drying for the winter. It was a little more than I thought and the stump still needs to be cut completely down. I couldn't get the big saw started so it had to wait.