October 31st was the Glass City Rollers first home game in Toledo–at the SeaGate Convention Centre and the venue was packed. This was my first ever roller derby experience and it was much more fun than I imagined.

It was Halloween so a lot of attendees showed up in costume, including our friends J., J., and M. (above). Keeping in the spirit, there was a costume contest during half-time.

The Glass City girls kicked major butt… but in the end it was the away team (Fox City Foxz) that skated away with the win. Booooo.

Glass City Rollers | This website kicks major butt, too!

Sunday was the first of what I hope will be many “Kites and Cupcakes” days. A bunch of us gathered at Promenade Park, Downtown with kites of all shapes and sizes. And yes, there were cupcakes too.

I found this owl to be very nice.

R. got creative with a plastic bag. Ingenious!

A bright red bat, flown by J., was perhaps the most successful kite of the day—both visually and in the air. We had a little lack of wind “issue” but she was still able to get her kite pretty high.

Early on, G. caught a snag, but it was nothing a little post-kites cocktail couldn’t fix. And that is how we closed the afternoon.

On a whim, we took a midnight bicycle ride tonight. We were careful — kept our front and back blinkers on and stayed mostly on the sidewalks. It was a very warm feeling 50-something, so I grabbed a light jacket and scarf and we rode. I didn’t feel like bothering to take a photo but I am reminded of The Triplets of Belleville so I am grabbing a screenshot from a favorite film that captures the spirit of this post. It was a wonderful ride.

Rent it, Netflix it, Amazon it, or just borrow it from the Toledo Public Library. It’s a French film but you need not know a lick of French or worry about subtitles. Trust me.

Once more, I will make note of Toledo’s importance in bicycle history because it is just that… a piece of history.

Pretty soon (or too soon) the streets will be covered with snow, sleet and ice. Take advantage of the weather while it lasts and visit downtown on your bicycle. Did you know Toledo used to be the bicycle capital of the world? Well… if not capital of the world it certainly was very important in the late 1800s taking credit for a good deal of modern bicycle innovation. The everyday metal wheel spoke was invented in Toledo! Ride your bike downtown after 5pm, when all the worker bees have gone home, enjoy the quiet streets, and own the city.

This weekend we co-hosted a croquet & casseroles party with our friends C. & K.

In the end, over 20 different dishes showed up! We had to get very creative in finding spots for all of them. Funny enough, the one guest from Minnesota actually brought a salad (which was very yummy). D.’s favorite casserole was a Martha Stewart chicken and artichoke pot pie.

C. and K. brought a fantastic croquet set and the badminton set was up — both, great games for warm summer days.

As day turned to night we settled around the fire. Good times and the casseroles made life easier on the hosts than a traditional BBQ. Throw your own!