Hitting the Roads

 At long last ... I'm feeling like a human being again.  I can actually breathe with little to no coughing.  Hallelujah!  I am ever so tired of just sitting around doing nothing but expanding, due to the muffins.

Mr. Cooper was happy to finally get out of the house too.  We only got around the corner maybe 50 feet, but at least he's still moving and smelling the smells.  He actually IS on a leash, you just can't see it.

Five minutes later ..... fast asleep!  He still wears the jammies.  They are loose enough not to bother him, but if I take them off, if only for ten seconds, he wants to lick and chew a spot on his leg.  As long as he has them on, he pays it no mind.  The Vet has checked him out many times, but there is nothing short of surgery that will help.  That is of course off the table considering his age.  Since he doesn't appear to mind one bit, I leave them on.

Of course the second he hears me moving around, he's up.  It's time to take the bike out for a test drive.  This came from my trail riding days at about 60 years of age.  What can I say ... I was a late bloomer.

Off I went out the driveway, wobbling along.  Ummm wait ... I lowered the seat two inches and watched the brakes to see which were the front and the back.  This thing has disc brakes, so I can stop on a dime, but I didn't want to land on my head.  

It took me about half a block to figure out the gears.  It's got lots of them.  I could shift up, but not down.  

That's when I realized .. or rather remembered .. that it's like a motorcycle.  You have to go a little faster around corners to stay upright.  In no time I was zooming down the streets, weaving in and out to get a better feel and dodging the school buses.  ERRRRRKKKK ... that's where I hit the brakes a little too hard.

I made it all of one mile before turning back.  I was pretty proud I actually turned it around in the middle of the street without falling over.  Back home, I put it away, but it didn't last long.  That was FUN and I wanted to go again.  This time I went a total of four miles, my knees letting me know I needed to put the seat back up.  Oh yeah ... this is GOOD exercise!  And SO MUCH EASIER than running!

Back in the house, I wandered around once again looking for something to do.  I ended up in the fridge.  Lunch doesn't look the least bit appetizing, but do you see something missing from this salad?  Tomatoes ... there are NO tomatoes.  

I spent the next couple of hours trying to come up with the next quilt.  I've got so much fabric, but I'm not good with colors, nor could I find the pattern I thought I had.  That brought about 90 minutes worth of going through books and boxes, getting all my patterns in order.  Who bought all these??  That darn Elf on the Shelf guy has been busy!

That's when I found THIS.  It's been hanging in the closet awaiting quilting.  Not only is it time to get it done, along with the pumpkin one above it, but maybe this pattern will work for my next quilt.  In the meantime, I've got lots of binding to do.

Here's the surprise of the day.  I bet this is something you didn't know about me.  I love the ocean and I love sculptures. This almost four foot tall wooden seahorse came home with me from an antique store in Washington State.  I admit, it was a little difficult getting him in my big rig, but I tied him up in the bathroom and he made the trip in one piece.  He goes well with my Buzzard.  I'll show him off next time.

And so I think I'm all healed up enough to make it to Bingo tonight.  I won't be doing much, and plan on heading home early if a cashier shows up.  I admit, I'm looking forward to being gone for SEVERAL weeks this winter.  Hitting the road in December sounds like a great idea!