My flight was about 45 minutes late getting in last night, highly unusual for Southwest, and I was afraid I'd miss my connection to the Whidbey-Seatac shuttle, as that would give me only about 30 minutes to collect my bags and get to the shuttle. But as usual, my bags came down the chute within about five minutes of my arrival at the baggage claim and I got there with time to spare. Another reason I try to always fly Southwest.
Bright and early (well, 9-ish anyway) this morning Gerry and I were in the car heading back to Seatac to pick up Tom from the Seattle Airpet Hotel. This place turns out to be a tiny, fairly shabby looking, very smelly little place tucked into the side of an industrial-looking building just down the road from the airport. Probably not a place I would choose to board my pet, but the guy (the only apparent employee) was very friendly and said he had much enjoyed petting and playing with Tom.
I am so glad Gerry wanted to ride down with me, as that enabled us to use the carpool lane and bypass the perpetually backed-up traffic through downtown, and we made the whole round trip, door-to-door, in about 3 1/2 hours, including ferry and a stop at the store to get cat food and litter. When we got back to the ferry, some tourist bozo coming from the other direction had the nerve to do a u-turn and cut into the line just a couple of cars in front of us, not just impolite but illegal. We were the very last vehicle onto the ferry, and that only because somebody must've ratted the guy out, as the ferry-worker stopped him and let us go ahead of him. (Hmmm, why do I assume it was a "him"?)
Tom has spent several hours exploring every possible nook and cranny of the house, proved that he knew how to use the litterbox, made amazing leaps into the air in pursuit of his new cat toy, climbed up and down his new cat tree a few times, laid down for about five minutes, and now is back playing with his toys again. I hope he wears himself out before bedtime.
Summer has arrived: The tomato plants I set out just before I left are blooming, and one of them is almost 5 feet tall, I kid you not. Chard is ready to be harvested, arugula has already bolted, irritating horsetail has once again covered my hillside, lobelia is in full bloom (and the deer haven't eaten it!), yard will need to be weed-whacked before I can even use the mower on it.
It's so, so good to be home!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Cat Shipping, Homeward Bound!
Yesterday before sunrise I was in the car driving Thomas Evelyn Cat to the airport. Delta Air Cargo said he needed to be there a full 2 1/2 hours before his 8:20am flight. The airport here is tiny, 2 or 3 gates at most, and as I expected, when I got there a little before 6am there was not a soul in sight. After yo-hooing for a few minutes, I finally roused a somewhat irritated-looking woman from the back. She proceeded to take me through a maze of paperwork and requirements, among which were:
1. I had brought a COPY of Tom's medical certificate, and they were supposed to have the ORIGINAL. She reluctantly agreed to accept the copy, she hoped it wouldn't get "rejected".
2. The plastic nuts on the (metal) bolts holding the carrier together were officially unacceptable; everything was supposed to be metal. I had read this on their website but couldn't find any carriers that came that way. Nevertheless I had come prepared, I thought, with replacement metal wingnuts in case they actually enforced this. However, two-thirds of them (all out of the same bin at Ace Hardware) did not fit the bolts. Again, she reluctantly agreed that they would probably be OK.
3. She had to go in the back somewhere to print out an hour-by-hour weather report of all the connecting airports, as the shipment was off if the temperature was predicted to be above 85F along the way. We squeaked by with 82 in Detroit. Believe me, this is not an issue in Seattle.
4. She couldn't process my credit card payment, some problem with computer passwords. She had to just write down my credit card number and process it later, but promised to call me (she did) and shred the evidence.
Stressful. I stopped for my morning latte on the way back to the house, then had breakfast, took a long nap, and spent most of the afternoon watching Gunsmoke and Bonanza with my dad. Promptly at 5pm, I got a call from Delta Air Cargo in Seattle. Although I had filled out multiple pieces of paperwork stating that the Seattle Airpet Hotel would be the ones to pick up Tom, they were still confused as to whether it was them or me he would be going to.
Ah well, it all worked out and he is now safely ensconced at the Seattle Airpet Hotel, awaiting my rescue on Friday. I won't get home until about 11pm Thursday night (which will be, ugh, 2am Michigan time), and then will jump right up Friday morning and take the 1 1/2 hour trip back to Seatac to get him, hoping to get back to the island before the Friday afternoon ferry traffic backs up.... it's full on tourist season now and there will likely be a 2 hour line by late afternoon.
I always have such mixed feelings when it comes time to leave here, though. Last night I stayed up watching the fireflies and enjoying the feel of the soft, humid summer air here. And thinking about how lonely my dad must get; he's had all of 3 visitors in the month I've been here. I wish I could convince him to get out to the senior center and make some friends.
But I sure am looking forward to getting home!
1. I had brought a COPY of Tom's medical certificate, and they were supposed to have the ORIGINAL. She reluctantly agreed to accept the copy, she hoped it wouldn't get "rejected".
2. The plastic nuts on the (metal) bolts holding the carrier together were officially unacceptable; everything was supposed to be metal. I had read this on their website but couldn't find any carriers that came that way. Nevertheless I had come prepared, I thought, with replacement metal wingnuts in case they actually enforced this. However, two-thirds of them (all out of the same bin at Ace Hardware) did not fit the bolts. Again, she reluctantly agreed that they would probably be OK.
3. She had to go in the back somewhere to print out an hour-by-hour weather report of all the connecting airports, as the shipment was off if the temperature was predicted to be above 85F along the way. We squeaked by with 82 in Detroit. Believe me, this is not an issue in Seattle.
4. She couldn't process my credit card payment, some problem with computer passwords. She had to just write down my credit card number and process it later, but promised to call me (she did) and shred the evidence.
Stressful. I stopped for my morning latte on the way back to the house, then had breakfast, took a long nap, and spent most of the afternoon watching Gunsmoke and Bonanza with my dad. Promptly at 5pm, I got a call from Delta Air Cargo in Seattle. Although I had filled out multiple pieces of paperwork stating that the Seattle Airpet Hotel would be the ones to pick up Tom, they were still confused as to whether it was them or me he would be going to.
Ah well, it all worked out and he is now safely ensconced at the Seattle Airpet Hotel, awaiting my rescue on Friday. I won't get home until about 11pm Thursday night (which will be, ugh, 2am Michigan time), and then will jump right up Friday morning and take the 1 1/2 hour trip back to Seatac to get him, hoping to get back to the island before the Friday afternoon ferry traffic backs up.... it's full on tourist season now and there will likely be a 2 hour line by late afternoon.
I always have such mixed feelings when it comes time to leave here, though. Last night I stayed up watching the fireflies and enjoying the feel of the soft, humid summer air here. And thinking about how lonely my dad must get; he's had all of 3 visitors in the month I've been here. I wish I could convince him to get out to the senior center and make some friends.
But I sure am looking forward to getting home!
Friday, June 20, 2014
More Canoeing, and The Dump
Yesterday cousin Pat brought her two grandaughters, Emily and Addy, out for a canoe ride. I have been trying for years to convince Pat to come canoeing with me. She apparently had a bad experience on a much rougher and wilder river, many years ago, but I finally convinced her that in order to get in trouble on our stretch of the Chippewa, you'd have to be passed out and land face down. I've tipped the canoe exactly once in 50 years, and that was when a 14-year-old friend and I were goofing off. The bigger problem here is dragging bottom, or hitting a rock in the shallows, and if that happens you just step out and pull for a few feet.
We took the shortest cruise option, which usually takes just an hour, although it went a bit long with 4 of us in the canoe, only me paddling, and a stiff headwind. At any rate, the girls and Pat all seemed to enjoy it, as did I. The highlight of the trip for me: We saw a gawky baby great blue heron, about half-adult sized but still covered in yellow fluff.
When we got back to my dad's house, Pat and I had to drive back up the river to get her car, and the girls, who had never been to my dad's house before, wanted to stay behind and explore. By the time we got back, my dad was down by the river with the girls, pushing them on the old swing on the oak tree. Then he took them for a ride around the property on Big Red, his ancient Honda 3-wheeler. I don't know who will have better memories from this day, the girls, my dad, or me, seeing him enjoy himself this way. I hope they will come back out to visit him!
Our afternoon entertaiment was a trip to the dump. Dad really can't do this on his own anymore, so this was an eight month accumulation of cans, non-returnable bottles, newspaper and magazines, just enough to fill the pickup (1974 jeep, still runnning!) Then back to shovel out the ashes from the old burn barrel and haul them out to the field, and replace with a new burn barrel, in which today we're burning several years of accumulated trash from the garage, barn, and B-8.
Hmm, not sure I've ever written about B-8. This is a sizeable wooden building, probably 20' X 40', my dad bought from Dow Chemical many years ago for $40. It cost him something close to $700 to have it moved, but still... it's SOLID and just a beautiful building. Heavy old timbered floors, an attic, an old pot-bellied stove, workbench. It's just classy. I wish I knew its history from Dow.
The dark side is that when he first bought it, the lead-based paint was peeling, and one of his cows ate enough of the paint to be mostly blinded before he got them away from it. I'm sure at some point that cow must've made it into our freezer.... ??? Oh well, can't be too much worse then the lead shot we used to come across in the wild game we ate.
We took the shortest cruise option, which usually takes just an hour, although it went a bit long with 4 of us in the canoe, only me paddling, and a stiff headwind. At any rate, the girls and Pat all seemed to enjoy it, as did I. The highlight of the trip for me: We saw a gawky baby great blue heron, about half-adult sized but still covered in yellow fluff.
When we got back to my dad's house, Pat and I had to drive back up the river to get her car, and the girls, who had never been to my dad's house before, wanted to stay behind and explore. By the time we got back, my dad was down by the river with the girls, pushing them on the old swing on the oak tree. Then he took them for a ride around the property on Big Red, his ancient Honda 3-wheeler. I don't know who will have better memories from this day, the girls, my dad, or me, seeing him enjoy himself this way. I hope they will come back out to visit him!
Our afternoon entertaiment was a trip to the dump. Dad really can't do this on his own anymore, so this was an eight month accumulation of cans, non-returnable bottles, newspaper and magazines, just enough to fill the pickup (1974 jeep, still runnning!) Then back to shovel out the ashes from the old burn barrel and haul them out to the field, and replace with a new burn barrel, in which today we're burning several years of accumulated trash from the garage, barn, and B-8.
Hmm, not sure I've ever written about B-8. This is a sizeable wooden building, probably 20' X 40', my dad bought from Dow Chemical many years ago for $40. It cost him something close to $700 to have it moved, but still... it's SOLID and just a beautiful building. Heavy old timbered floors, an attic, an old pot-bellied stove, workbench. It's just classy. I wish I knew its history from Dow.
The dark side is that when he first bought it, the lead-based paint was peeling, and one of his cows ate enough of the paint to be mostly blinded before he got them away from it. I'm sure at some point that cow must've made it into our freezer.... ??? Oh well, can't be too much worse then the lead shot we used to come across in the wild game we ate.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Thousand Dollar Cat
OK, Thomas Evelyn Cat has been neutered, brought up-to-date on shots, micro-chipped, wormed, and given a clean bill of health. He is scheduled to be shipped via Delta air cargo next Monday, weather permitting, to the Seattle Airpet Hotel. I fly out on Thursday, and will pick him up on Friday, after I go out and buy all the cat stuff that I got rid of a couple of months ago when I thought I would not have any more pets for the foreseeable future. That plus the vet bills, shipping, and boarding will make him pretty close to a thousand dollar cat. I keep repeating to myself, it's only money. It's only money.
And as long as I'm spending it, I bit the bullet and ordered my dad a new seat for his wheelchair. Not much luck trying to find a place to reupholster the existing one and get it back to him the same day. Too late for a father's day present, but he's got a birthday coming up in July.
Yesterday I took the 3 hour cruise down the river. I had left my kayak outside leaned up agains the garage, and when I turned it over, about a half dozen large garden spiders, those nasty big black and yellow things about 2 inches across, went running under the seat and into it's various hidden places. Ugh, it still makes me shiver to think about it. I blasted it with the hose and stomped on whatever came out. Then when I was about to load it onto the car, here came yet another one creeping out. Right, this is the thing I'm going to lower myself defenselessly down into, to where I can barely move, and not see what's crawling on me? Gulp. Well, I did, and amazingly I guess I either got all of them, or they stayed well hidden.
And yesterday was a truly perfect day for a float down the river. 82, sunshine, no wind. Bathing suit weather, and I have the sunburnt shoulders to prove it. Followed by nap-in-the-hammock weather.
It seems to be full-on summer here now, clammy muggy hot, and I am longing to be back in the temperate northwest, where Leslie says it might get into the 70's this weekend.....
And as long as I'm spending it, I bit the bullet and ordered my dad a new seat for his wheelchair. Not much luck trying to find a place to reupholster the existing one and get it back to him the same day. Too late for a father's day present, but he's got a birthday coming up in July.
Yesterday I took the 3 hour cruise down the river. I had left my kayak outside leaned up agains the garage, and when I turned it over, about a half dozen large garden spiders, those nasty big black and yellow things about 2 inches across, went running under the seat and into it's various hidden places. Ugh, it still makes me shiver to think about it. I blasted it with the hose and stomped on whatever came out. Then when I was about to load it onto the car, here came yet another one creeping out. Right, this is the thing I'm going to lower myself defenselessly down into, to where I can barely move, and not see what's crawling on me? Gulp. Well, I did, and amazingly I guess I either got all of them, or they stayed well hidden.
And yesterday was a truly perfect day for a float down the river. 82, sunshine, no wind. Bathing suit weather, and I have the sunburnt shoulders to prove it. Followed by nap-in-the-hammock weather.
It seems to be full-on summer here now, clammy muggy hot, and I am longing to be back in the temperate northwest, where Leslie says it might get into the 70's this weekend.....
Friday, June 13, 2014
Stressing about Cat Shipping
I've been stressing for the past several days about cat shipping. It's not simple.
Theoretically, you can take a cat as carry-on baggage on Southwest, but the carrier has to be big enough for the cat to stand up and turn around in, yet it can't be more than 8.5 inches tall.....? And they only allow a maximum of 6 pets per flight, first come, first served, no reservations.???? So what do you do if you get to the airport and there have already been 6 pets ahead of yours????
So, cross that option off the list.
There are outfits that will drive your pet across the country for you, door to door. The only quote I got was $940. Enough of that.
You can check your pet as baggage, but nearly all the airlines now have a summer "embargo" on that due to heat issues.
Short of driving my car back to Seattle, the only remaining option is to ship via air cargo. Delta sounds like they have a good program for that, and I talked to an actual human being who seemed to know what they were talking about and was very friendly about it. It costs pretty much the same as a seat on an airplane (so why can't I just buy another seat on the plan and strap him in????). I guess I'm committed, and resigned to that cost. BUT, if the weather forecast shows temperatures above 85 for any of the airports he's going through, they still won't take him that day. So, hope for cool weather for the next couple of weeks for the midwest.
Then there's the issue that I must ship him before I leave, which means he will get there before I do. I've found a kennel near Seatac who says they will pick him up and board him until I can get home, drive back to the airport, and rescue him.
When I lost my poor old Sabrina a couple of months ago I got rid of all my cat stuff, thinking "no more pets until I'm too old to travel much anymore". So much for that.
I still don't know for sure if he is litterbox trained. I've kept him in my bedroom overnight, and there's a litter box in there, but so far nothing has appeared in it, or anywhere else in the bedroom (that I've found anyway). And even if he is litter trained, he may find that he prefers to go on the Sabrina-scented carpeting in my livingroom. I hope not.
I just wish this was all over with. Now I have nothing to do but worry about it for two weeks. I'm sure it would've been simpler to get a cat in Seattle, but what can you do when a cat choses you, and you fall in love with it, and he is so cuddly, and in addition your dad has mentioned taking it to the pound?????
Theoretically, you can take a cat as carry-on baggage on Southwest, but the carrier has to be big enough for the cat to stand up and turn around in, yet it can't be more than 8.5 inches tall.....? And they only allow a maximum of 6 pets per flight, first come, first served, no reservations.???? So what do you do if you get to the airport and there have already been 6 pets ahead of yours????
So, cross that option off the list.
There are outfits that will drive your pet across the country for you, door to door. The only quote I got was $940. Enough of that.
You can check your pet as baggage, but nearly all the airlines now have a summer "embargo" on that due to heat issues.
Short of driving my car back to Seattle, the only remaining option is to ship via air cargo. Delta sounds like they have a good program for that, and I talked to an actual human being who seemed to know what they were talking about and was very friendly about it. It costs pretty much the same as a seat on an airplane (so why can't I just buy another seat on the plan and strap him in????). I guess I'm committed, and resigned to that cost. BUT, if the weather forecast shows temperatures above 85 for any of the airports he's going through, they still won't take him that day. So, hope for cool weather for the next couple of weeks for the midwest.
Then there's the issue that I must ship him before I leave, which means he will get there before I do. I've found a kennel near Seatac who says they will pick him up and board him until I can get home, drive back to the airport, and rescue him.
When I lost my poor old Sabrina a couple of months ago I got rid of all my cat stuff, thinking "no more pets until I'm too old to travel much anymore". So much for that.
I still don't know for sure if he is litterbox trained. I've kept him in my bedroom overnight, and there's a litter box in there, but so far nothing has appeared in it, or anywhere else in the bedroom (that I've found anyway). And even if he is litter trained, he may find that he prefers to go on the Sabrina-scented carpeting in my livingroom. I hope not.
I just wish this was all over with. Now I have nothing to do but worry about it for two weeks. I'm sure it would've been simpler to get a cat in Seattle, but what can you do when a cat choses you, and you fall in love with it, and he is so cuddly, and in addition your dad has mentioned taking it to the pound?????
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Good News and Bad News
The good news is that my severe back pain from a couple of weeks ago is gone, and I apparently will not need back and/or hip surgery any time soon. The bad news is that the pain, which was followed by a rash, and now itchy little pimples on my left torso, front and rear, is: Shingles! So far it's just irritating, sorta like a bad sunburn with a bit of poison ivy thrown in, and I'm actually relieved to know it's not a serious back problem. I was able to get in and out of the local walk-in clinic very quickly this morning. The doctor said the drug treatment window is only within the first 48 hours, and there's not much to do but keep it covered as it is definitely contagious. And of course, get a shingles vaccination when I'm insurance-eligible (next January), which he said would make future recurrences (and somewhat ominously he said "when", not "if" they occur) less severe. I have never been sure whether I actually had chicken pox as a child. Now I know.
I have decided that Tom E. Cat has definitely adopted me as his person and will be coming home with me. He is scheduled to be dis-balled, have necessary shots, and get his travelling papers next Monday. I've bought an airline approved container for him. Still investigating the actual airline arrangements, but I think I will ship him on Delta, which offers nonstop flights from the local airport to Seattle, so that he won't have to endure the 15+ hour trip that I will do on Southwest. I don't imagine it will make much difference to him whose cargo hold he is in. I don't know what I will do about the Sabrina-pee-smelling carpet at my house, but I don't feel right about leaving Tom here so we'll have to work something out.
Biking friend Rebecca was here for a couple of days, and got the standard tour of town: bike trail, Tridge, courthouse, Chippewa nature center, canoe ride, venison dinner fixed by my dad. This morning she headed off for Stratford, Ontario where she has tickets for several plays (it's a big months-long festival every year there). Unfortunately, she had forgotten her passport, so had to have it overnight Fed-exed to Port Huron, just this side of the border, where she hoped to pick it up at 10:30 this morning and still make it to a 2pm performance in Stratford this afternoon. I hope it all went as planned.
Last Thursday the 5 of us in New Buffalo did a beautiful 67 mile ride around the back roads there, pictures below. We stopped for lunch at Fernwood, a very interesting place with flower gardens, unique sculptures, and a fantastic outdoor model railroad display.
Friday I drove back to my dad's house, taking a detour to visit an old friend I hadn't seen in 15 years. Sadly, her husband had a stroke last year and is not doing well, but she, at 82, is still going strong. It was great to see her and I promised not to let another fifteen years go by.
It was a long drive and I was so exhausted I spent about half of Saturday napping in the hammock by the river. Hard to imagine a more pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
I have decided that Tom E. Cat has definitely adopted me as his person and will be coming home with me. He is scheduled to be dis-balled, have necessary shots, and get his travelling papers next Monday. I've bought an airline approved container for him. Still investigating the actual airline arrangements, but I think I will ship him on Delta, which offers nonstop flights from the local airport to Seattle, so that he won't have to endure the 15+ hour trip that I will do on Southwest. I don't imagine it will make much difference to him whose cargo hold he is in. I don't know what I will do about the Sabrina-pee-smelling carpet at my house, but I don't feel right about leaving Tom here so we'll have to work something out.
Biking friend Rebecca was here for a couple of days, and got the standard tour of town: bike trail, Tridge, courthouse, Chippewa nature center, canoe ride, venison dinner fixed by my dad. This morning she headed off for Stratford, Ontario where she has tickets for several plays (it's a big months-long festival every year there). Unfortunately, she had forgotten her passport, so had to have it overnight Fed-exed to Port Huron, just this side of the border, where she hoped to pick it up at 10:30 this morning and still make it to a 2pm performance in Stratford this afternoon. I hope it all went as planned.
Last Thursday the 5 of us in New Buffalo did a beautiful 67 mile ride around the back roads there, pictures below. We stopped for lunch at Fernwood, a very interesting place with flower gardens, unique sculptures, and a fantastic outdoor model railroad display.
Friday I drove back to my dad's house, taking a detour to visit an old friend I hadn't seen in 15 years. Sadly, her husband had a stroke last year and is not doing well, but she, at 82, is still going strong. It was great to see her and I promised not to let another fifteen years go by.
It was a long drive and I was so exhausted I spent about half of Saturday napping in the hammock by the river. Hard to imagine a more pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
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| Yet another center of the world |
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| Mini farm |
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| Interesting sculpture at Fernwood |
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| Happy bikers at Fernwood |
Posted with BlogsyWednesday, June 4, 2014
New Buffalo
I am in New Buffalo Mich for the week, staying in a house with some of my biking friends from the Underground Railroad and norther tier bike rides, two from Nebraska, one from New York, and one from Ohio. This house is truly huge: we each have our own bedroom and bathroom, there's a big screened-in porch, kitchen, two patios with grill and firepit, at least three indoor fireplaces, large living rooms both upstairs and down, I don't know how many big screen tvs (none of which we've turned on). The shower in my bathroom has 10, count 'em, 10 nozzles: a "normal" one and 4 variously pointing waist-level ones on each side. It's like a stand-up hot tub / steam room, quite wonderful. There's another one of these shower in another bathroom, and two of the bathrooms have 2-person jacuzzi tubs.
I've finally gotten rained on. We started out for a bike ride this morning but only made it about a half mile before Lynn and I decided we'd had enough. I brought a raincoat but that's all-- no long pants, no full gloves, no shoe covers, no helmet cover. That added to the fact that I'm riding in sandals just seemed to make for a bit more damp and chilly than I would enjoy. Christine, Debbie, and Rebecca, intrepid souls that they are, rode on while Lynn and I retired to the local espresso shop.
And why, you might ask, am I riding in sandals? Because I forgot my dang bike shoes! Luckily Rebecca brought an extra bike with non-clipless pedals (It seems like that should make them clipped pedals, doesn't it? ) I had to go begging for help at the local auto parts store, where they kindly loaned me one of their wrenches and he-men to remove the pedals so I could put them on my bike.
So, yesterday we had a beautiful 37 mile ride in sunshine, and tomorrow promises more of the same. We visited Warren Dunes State Park, had a gourmet lunch in downtown Sawyer, and then toured the bicycle museum in Three Oaks, where we found the mother lode of bike route information for Michigan.
We spent some time talking to the museum proprietor, Who started the museum and the Three Oaks Spokes bike club in 1974 . They currently have about 60 members, and their own clubhouse attached to the museum. the club puts on a ride called the Apple Cider Century every September, limited to 6000 people. In their clubhouse they have an impressive display of Apple Cider Century tshirts going back to at least 1982.
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| A shady road |
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| Haunted house |
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| Rebecca looks through a giant kaleidoscope in Three Oaks MI |
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| this old building was originally the Warren Featherbone Company, purveyors of fine corset stays |
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| A different design for a tandem bike |
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| Monster cruiser |
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| Dinosaurs |
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| Interesting house behind the dinosaurs |
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| Dino closure up |
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| Dino tarantula |
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| Warren Dunes |
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| happy bikers at the beach |
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Too much coffee, not enough biking
At the coffee shop again, on my 2nd double latte. I've told them not to give me any more, no matter how I beg.
My long run of sunshine continues. I kayaked most of my usual route down the Chippewa River a few days ago. I say "most of" because I took the 3-hour cruise instead of the 4-hour, because I wasn't sure my back could take the longer one. I've been in varying amounts of pain since I've been here, taking the maximum allowable doses of Aleve and/or ibuprofen, icing, heating, stretching. Seems like the same lower back stuff I've had for many years, but more intense, and usually it goes away after a day or two. I don't like this.
The thing that seems to help the most is bicycling, and I was briefly pain-free after a 54 mile ride yesterday..... well, lower-back pain-free anyway. I'm used to always having shoulder pain when I ride. Sigh. This is not going to get any better as I age, is it?
My dad, who can barely walk anymore, has one of those electric scooters to get around inside the house. It was passed down to him from his deceased wife, Shirley, and I'm not sure how long she had it, but it's probably at least 10 years old, and the seat cushion is all cracked and coming apart and patched with duct tape. You'd think it would be a simple matter to replace, but no. I found an aftermarket cushion, but it's too big, as they've changed the seat design. Yes, one could probably get it reupholstered, but that would mean my dad would be without transportation for some amount of time, not really an option. So I guess the only remaining option is to order a whole new seat, which is about a third the cost of a whole new scooter. He nixed that idea, but I think I will go ahead with it and call it a father's day present.
Tomorrow I'm off to New Buffalo, Michigan to meet up with bike riding friends for a few days. I've never spent any time in that part of the state, the extreme southwest corner, so am looking forward to exploration and of course visiting with friends. And getting away from Faux News.
My long run of sunshine continues. I kayaked most of my usual route down the Chippewa River a few days ago. I say "most of" because I took the 3-hour cruise instead of the 4-hour, because I wasn't sure my back could take the longer one. I've been in varying amounts of pain since I've been here, taking the maximum allowable doses of Aleve and/or ibuprofen, icing, heating, stretching. Seems like the same lower back stuff I've had for many years, but more intense, and usually it goes away after a day or two. I don't like this.
The thing that seems to help the most is bicycling, and I was briefly pain-free after a 54 mile ride yesterday..... well, lower-back pain-free anyway. I'm used to always having shoulder pain when I ride. Sigh. This is not going to get any better as I age, is it?
My dad, who can barely walk anymore, has one of those electric scooters to get around inside the house. It was passed down to him from his deceased wife, Shirley, and I'm not sure how long she had it, but it's probably at least 10 years old, and the seat cushion is all cracked and coming apart and patched with duct tape. You'd think it would be a simple matter to replace, but no. I found an aftermarket cushion, but it's too big, as they've changed the seat design. Yes, one could probably get it reupholstered, but that would mean my dad would be without transportation for some amount of time, not really an option. So I guess the only remaining option is to order a whole new seat, which is about a third the cost of a whole new scooter. He nixed that idea, but I think I will go ahead with it and call it a father's day present.
Tomorrow I'm off to New Buffalo, Michigan to meet up with bike riding friends for a few days. I've never spent any time in that part of the state, the extreme southwest corner, so am looking forward to exploration and of course visiting with friends. And getting away from Faux News.
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