ROAD BIKES AND PURRS

 

GOOD DAY this morning to everyone who's hanging out with me for a few minutes.  It's much appreciated and keeps me going when I'm housebound.  Why is that you ask?  Because yes ... I'm sick once again.  I'm sure it's a present from Bingo.  Those folks cough and sneeze in your face all the time without covering their mouths.  If I hear something, I run, but apparently this time I did't fun fast enough.

No sore throat, no fever ... just another stuffed up nose, soon to be coughing, cold.  It won't keep me down long ... in fact, for me, exercising makes it better faster.

I was looking back at early pictures of Kitters.  In this one she looks pretty good, but she weighed barely 3 pounds and was skinny as a rail.  Now she's up to 11 pounds and counting.  Big difference, yes?

Here's another purr fest.  This kitty ... the second you get near to her, she purrs.  If you pick her up, she purrs the entire time.  What a shame she was left to her own devices, though she has caught a gopher and a couple of lizards.  She comes in every morning, checks out the house, tries to get in cupboards and jumps up on everything.  She sure acts like she was a house kitty.

Not much exciting happened yesterday.  It started out on the couch until it was time to get my bike.  This was part of my running, swimming, biking obsession.  Triathlons as it were.  I was great at biking, mostly because this bike was just about the best you could buy back then.  It's light as a feather and fast as the wind.  

At 55 years of age, I was horrible at swimming.  When you're always the last one out of the pool, you have to be good at biking and running.  Therefore, my triathlon career lasted about six months.  I never did it to win ... I just did it to see if I could.  The bike has been living in my house ever since, though back in the day she got lots of use just for the exercise.  I finally took her out to get the tires replaced and everything cleaned and greased.  Amazingly, the tires were still good.  They used to make things to last.  

Yes ... yes I did ... at 70+ years of age ... go out back on my driveway and get on for a ride around the block.  My balance isn't what it used to be, but I rode her ... all of 100 feet.  In case you didn't know, riders wear padded shorts, which are not only for the men, but for women too.  I didn't on this quick little foray ... and boy was I sorry.  If I'm going to get back to riding, I need the proper "wearage" which of course are all too small now.   I admit, I love this bike.

Back in the house walking a little funny, I crashed on the couch for two hours.  SO unlike me.  The cold has ahold, but only by its fingertips.  

So, in order to "get better" I whipped up a little peach cobbler, the same way the lodge makes it.  One big can of sliced peaches with about half the juice, poured in a cake pan.  Sprinkle with a little brown sugar and cinnamon.  Then cover in French Vanilla Cake mix.  I used only half the bag since I don't want to be eating this for three weeks.  MORE cinnamon ... lots in fact ... and cover with slices of butter.  Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

It really needed nuts, but I was too lazy.

With whipped cream of course.  It's much better with ice cream, but I didn't have any.  It's crazy how good this turns out, though my Mom's recipe is actually better.

I don't know what happened after that.  Well actually, I do.  I have a bike rack that goes in the bed of my pickup.  I thought to put it back in (it stays all the time and is not in the way) but needed to find the parts and pieces.  This piece clamps under the top side rail of the bed, one on each side.  The rod goes across the bed and is bolted to this.  

The problem?  I can only find ONE SIDE.  What the heck?  I know they were both on the shelf, but I couldn't find it.  I went out three times, looking in, around and under everything.  

If I got rid of some of this junk, I'd be ahead of the game and maybe find it.  I drug all this stuff out ... it's going away for lack of use, and went through every box and cupboard out there.  Nothing ... I found nothing.  How frustrating.

Literally three hours later, I was still moving stuff around.  All those boxes on the bottom right need to be shredded.  They want $300 to do it ... so I've been stacking them up.  I moved a lot of things, with only one disaster ... the breaking of two antique mixing bowls that hit the floor.  At least I can walk around a bit better.  

I never did find the part ... and of course they don't make them like that any more.  A new bike rack will be $350.00, so that's not happening.  If anyone knows what that piece is called or where I might find something ... anything that will clamp to the side wall of the truck bed, and is flat on top with holes for bolts, please let me know.  I was on the internet for another hour before finally giving up.  

I'll be back on the couch trying to heal up once again.  At least today the head pain and congestion is almost gone.  See ... it's that garage work that made me feel better.  But then again, the cough has begun.