A few days late, but here's

Cancer's Horoscope for January.

The fragment that made me laugh?

Earlier I mentioned that Mars will treat the new moon harshly on January 1, and that's true. I do want to add that Mars seems to be putting quite a spotlight on your home, not only this month, but straight through July 2014, due to Mars' trek through Libra. Mars brings enormous energy, noise, and activity, so home is becoming a main focus for you. You may have ordered painters, contractors, or other maintenance people in to do repairs, or you may be redecorating. It is alternatively possible you will be hosting many guests at your home in the months ahead, and that would explain the buzz of activity.

If you've forgotten, my daughter's Sun sign is also Cancer. She lives in the house that is about to be invaded by contractors, to the extreme detriment of my cash flow situation, but, once again, it has to be done and might as well get it over with. Rip off that bandaid and deal with that sorry-ass bathroom. I'm just REALLY, REALLY sorry to hear that if the Horoscope Lady is right, this crap is going to go on until July. I'm hoping this means that we'll do the hall bath now, and maybe do the desperately needed new carpet in July, or that my daughter is going to have a lot of house guests.

I rode my bike again today, and once again, ran into my courtyard neighbor who always has to say something jocular. I was carrying the trash down to the garage (I don't put the trash out the night before garbage day and wish to God he didn't), and planned to ride my bike for half an hour, which was all the daylight we had left. He saw me and immediately asked if I was sore after yesterday's ride. I said I wasn't, and was about to go for another ride. And I did. 5 miles, a very leisurely half hour, then the sun was too low. I need a few more rides like this to get my riding groove back, but I'm much better than I was when I first got the bike. I'm not thinking about riding now, I'm just riding, and that's how it should be.

Today's weather was spectacular - 80-ish degrees and sunny. Depending on the weather prognosticator one consults, we will plunge to a low of 30 either Monday or Tuesday, but we are in for a sudden very, very cold snap, followed by major warming. Weather Underground's prediction for next Saturday? 86. Apparently Florida is going to be the caboose on the winter game of climate change crack-the-whip.

Getting back on the bike.

One of my vows for the new year is to get more exercise. That, combined with a Facebook friend getting a really awesome new bike. I had a moment of awesome new bike envy, which lasted until it was supplanted by the shame of "Wait, you have a bike. It's covered in dust and cobwebs, and sitting on two flat tires in your garage." I resolved on the spot to get that bike out on New Year's Day, when, of course, it poured rain all day. Today was the first day I could make do on my vow, and I did.

I think someone in comments asked me days ago what kind of bike I have, and I was so distracted by work, the blog, the bathroom disaster, and everything, I never answered, so I hope that commenter sees this. I have a Trek Pure Lowstep. Mine is pink, and looks like this:

I like the pink, but I'm slightly miffed that now it's available in that pretty violet color that wasn't an option the year I bought mine. My local bike shop had it in pink, so I bought it in pink. It's a very easy basic bike, minimal gearing, comfortable seat, and no hopping on and off and jarring the knees. My knees have issues, and though they rarely hurt after I changed my diet, their mechanical problems remain. I have to treat them gently.

Anyway, I cleaned off my poor neglected bike, pumped up the flat tires, and took it for a short ride. I did several loops around quiet nearby streets, probably about 5 miles total, but I didn't want to get too far from home on a first ride, just in case there was a mechanical issue stemming from my extreme neglect and the bike and I had to walk home. But it seems just fine, the gears shifted smoothly and the brakes worked properly, so tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll take it out again, on a slightly longer ride. My knees have to be re-introduced to the bike slowly, lest they refuse to let me stand up on Monday, but gentle biking is literally just what the doctor ordered for strengthening my congenitally weak knees.

As I was cleaning it off before the ride, my neighbor came outside. He's one of those old guys who always has to say something jolly (he's in commercial real estate) and of course he had to ask if it was a new bike, and then ask me teasingly if he could watch me get on and ride it. I think he thought I'd have some difficulty. I said, "Just as long as it doesn't end up on YouTube!" and pedaled off, thankfully without wobbling and making an ass of myself. It had been well over a year since the last time I'd chased the spiders off the handlebars, and then I didn't ride it more than once or twice before it got too hot and I got too busy, or whatever excuse I told myself.

Oddly enough, bikes play a major supporting role in my latest audiobook listen. The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times. The tv series "Call the Midwife" is in my Netflix list, but I haven't watched anything but Sesame Street or Curious George on Netflix in many months, so I've never watched a single episode. I decided to give the audiobook a try, and WOW!

This is a fabulous book - beautifully written, intelligent, full of sometimes horrifying facts about the history of women's health, especially surrounding childbirth, but mostly a vividly drawn portrait of a period of time and a segment of society that truly doesn't exist anymore. And the midwives pedal to their patients in the East End on bicycles, so there are constant references to bikes and riding - I didn't choose this book because of the bikes, and I had already decided to start riding again before I started the book. But yes, it's a funny little bit of serendipity that the many references to riding are somehow reinforcing my desire to get back on my bike again.