catch up time

[Guest guest]

Whew! I'm alone in my house (except the dogs & cats). Since last Saturday, I've had (13) & Jon (almost 6) all of the time, plus Brannon (11) half the weekend & most of the day Wed., babysat Gwyn (6) & Trent, the human Energizer Bunny (going on 4) Monday & Wed. evenings. Mon-Fri I took Jon to a day camp about 25 mi. away, which amounted to nearly 4 hrs. of travel each day, by the time I got him in his carseat, checked him in at camp, talked to the counselors, etc. It was worth it, because he had a great time & I think he needed the experience of being away from family all day, to prepare him for school this fall, but most days I just slept the five hours between trips. Except Wed., when I took & Brannon kayaking! I was exhausted, but it was great fun. We had a minor tragedy; had 2 gerbils, which were attacking each other, so I took one. Got a cage & all the stuff & she brought him on Sat. I named him Bruno & thought he was safe on a table in the living room. But Mon. when I got back from getting Jon, the cage was in pieces on the floor & Bruno nowhere to be found. I really thought that he had run under the sofa or something. Years ago when we had gerbils, they would get away now & then and hide somewhere. We would lure them out with paper towel tubes; they love those things. So even though the kids were worried, I really figured he was fine. Annie the dog had shown interest in him, but would just lick his face when we held him. B.J., on the other hand, tries to gulp everything down that he sees. You can give him a piece of steak & he swallows it whole; never even tastes it. Once he almost swallowed a handful of screws I was carrying. But I didn't think he could have caught Bruno. Well, I was wrong. A couple of hours later, Jon found him in the yard. He was wet, not a mark on him, so I think "something" swallowed him whole & barfed him up later. The kids (by this time Gwyn & Trent were there, plus a neighbor kid, & ) were all mad at B.J. I tried to remind them of the "innocent until proven guilty" principle, but I have to admit, the circumstantial evidence was pretty strong. So we buried Bruno out in my garden (of weeds) & made a little marker. The kids didn't seem to be traumatized; they just kept scolding B.J., who of course didn't have a clue that he'd done anything wrong.

Anyway, then Sparky the Computer got in a snit & wouldn't connect to the Internet for a couple of days. Finally, late last night he started cooperating.

But the great news is that I got a recumbent trike! I've wanted one for about a year & a half, since I read about them on the Internet & tried one at a bike shop. It is absolutely wonderful. It doesn't hurt my back, hips, knees, elbows, wrists, neck, fanny! I rode all over the neighborhood. I attached a photo & a short video. I'll put them in the Temp folder of the Photos section also, at least the photo. Not sure if it will take the video. The recumbent trikes are currently fairly expensive, but as the demand increases, I'm sure the price will go down. The bike shop guy who delivered it & adjusted it for me said he sells more of them than any other bike now. I got a Terra Trike, which is one of the least expensive, but very good quality. I looked on E-Bay, but didn't see much. I doubt that many people want to sell their trikes! Y'all have got to try one; call your local bike shops to see if they carry them & give it a test drive. Before now, the only exercise I could get was water exercise, but I really missed being outside. I couldn't ride a regular bike anymore, partly because of balance problems, but also because my feet hurt when they are dependent, and so many other joints & body parts hurt. The trike is perfect!

Well, I'm going to spend a few hours unwinding & catching up on phone calls, but I'll try to get online this evening & catch up with you guys.

Ramblin' Rose

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