OLD AGE FRUSTRATION

Here we are, still stuck in the fog on this lovely day with only ten days left until Christmas.  That just doesn't seem possible.   Notice the neighbor's lights change color.  Last week blue ... this week green.  I'm one of those crazy people who think we should leave them up all year long.  They definitely brighten up the neighborhood.

Having recovered ... sort of ... from the also foggy wet trip for Wreaths Across America, I tried to sleep in.  It lasted all of 15 minutes.  As you can see, I'm still trying to get back on the diet bandwagon.  Here's some interesting info ... I looked at Carb Balance tortillas, only to find they had something like 45 carbs.  Don't quote me on that one.  

So when I saw ZERO net carbs ... well that should work just fine.  However ... unless you fry them in lots of butter, which I suppose is even MORE Keto, they fall apart and taste terrible.  

Here's my quesadilla with eggs, cheese and avocado.  It tasted like I was eating paper.  The little bits of egg are for Cooper's breakfast.  

I messed around the house for a while and loaded a few things into the van.  Then I was off to do more year end bookwork.  Three hours later, I arrived back home, with a dumb idea.  I've been wanting to go for a bike ride, but my bike was cabled and locked on the bike rack on the van.  I had a thought.  I'll just take it off for the practice and go for a ride today.

That was a bad idea.  No kidding, by the time I unlocked all those locks, unstrapped all those straps and manhandled the very heavy cover OFF the bike, I was completely DONE with this idea.  Why?  Because yet another problem came up ... you cannot see the license plate.  That has recently caused many people to get tickets from the highway patrol.  RATS!

I decided to remove the hitch for this long trip and use it for short trips to the coast instead.  Easy peasy ... get out my wrench and loosen the hitch bolt so the lock can be removed.

Let me just say first, that I ASKED the kid installing this thing if there was enough ROOM to unlock it.  He said OF COURSE.  HE LIED.  Even with the bolt as loose as it would go, there was no way to get your fingers holding a key into that space next to those wires.  Even just the key did not fit.

I even went so far as to get a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the key, but nothing I tried would work.  I've been frustrated before, but this went above and beyond.  There is a steel plate in front of those wires, so there was no moving anything.  

You can see in this picture where the key should go.  I called the local locksmith, but they didn't answer.  Finally, in complete disgust, I drove all the way to the next town over to find a locksmith who I thought would just stick a little crochet hook in there and open it up.  I was highly mistaken.

Thirty minutes later, they were finally able to find a master key, which didn't help at all.  I mean really, I HAD the REAL key.  The master would not fit either.  By now I'm just downright MAD.  

At long last they were able to twist the bolt and lock to the exact right spot and get the lock off.  Luckily this bolt screws in, so I was able to drive home without the rack falling off.  

The fancy dancy bike rack is now living in the garage.  I'm not taking it on any trips until I get a new lightweight cover and get the backup object detectors turned off.  The entire time you are driving down the road, the dash lights light up like you are running into something.  If you back up, sirens go off, flashing lights appear and ding ding ding goes off continuously.  In all my research of bike racks, none of these problems EVER came up.  

And so my solution for now is setting up an Uber account.  How frustrating ... and maddening.  Put in a different kind of hitch pin the other direction you say?  I haven't found one that will fit.  I don't know whether to blame the van or the bike rack, so I blame myself for not finding out this stuff sooner.  I may have to put the bike inside, and just lock it up OUTSIDE, every time I get somewhere. 

Dinner was again leftovers ... another turkey sandwich.  I ran out of cranberry sauce, so I tried some of my boysenberry jam.  Surprisingly, it was DELICIOUS!  Not to sweet at all, and it went great with the turkey.

More bookwork will ensue today, just in time for company to arrive.  I feel bad my friend comes down every so often, but I never have time to spend with her.  Any spare time will be spent packing this time. 

I was lucky enough to have little forethought and washed the clothes I need, which are now in the rig.  Time to get out all my little post-it notes so I don't forget anything!!!

But wait!!!  No one knows how to set up the Bingo machine while I'm gone.  I guess today I'll put on my pirate hat and find someone to shanghai!!