Follies

The weekend was crappy for weather here and tonight it's supposed to frost. This is past our usual "last hard frost" date and we have a gazillion plants to cover up. Hoping to save the vegetables, strawberries and rasberries but still have 100 pansies SOMEONE planted to surprise me, glads, peonys, iris lillies in several assorted colors and varieties, hollyhocks, morning glories, and thank heaven the tulips, daffodils, narcissus, crocus and hiacyinth are finished already!

Saturday I was dealing with the cold, flu or bronchitis that's been hanging on for more than a week now. My voice is missing in action. The weather was chilly and rainy so we didn't go to the Blessing of the Bikes in Baldwin this weekend. The annual whole town yard sale was pretty much a wash out. I didn't have anything set up for it this year.

Around two-ish my meds kicked in and the mate took me out to hit the few places that had inside sales or braved the weather so I could hunt for missing treasure ( treasure I don't have, lol). I don't know what has gotten into him this week. Usually he just gives me some money and sends me off alone. He's always a wonderful mate, partner, lover, friend and boyfriend but he has been really sweet. He is the someone that planted 100 deep red pansies for me and then he chauffered me around town today. After a couple random stops he took me to the other side of town and we stopped at a nice little old lady's house where he bought us bicycles.

That's what I said. Plural, two, one for me and one for him. Old fashioned one speed, Tru-Value Bicycles. Can you hint any harder?

This is the beginning of our mutual exercise program. We both need it but generally just avoid it. I avoid it out of fear. He avoids it to not make me feel guilty for not exercising. So our already large boned, stocky german irish frames are round in the wrong places. With the health problems I have had I haven't hardly moved in 3 years or more.

Not to whine but I have had degerative arthritis that required a hip replacement after a year of dragging around like Igor, using a cane and sitting whenever I could. That laid me up for two months and more to heal all the way. Took Vioxx for it - had a heart attack and got my tail bone dislocated in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Heart has one stint and tail bone is still not fixed. This makes sitting complicated and often painful. So, yes, I have been worried I will drop over dead over exerting where no one will find me.

Solutions by Mate; two bicycles, he will go with me riding. We used to ride 6 or 7 miles one way to visit each other when we were kids. Now we usually just ride the motorcycles. What a great partner he is for me!

I am ready to try and actually made it all the way around the block on my first ride! Aiming for the creek 7/10ths of a mile down the road, fish till I am rested and return. When the works we will start for the gas station eight miles out, have a cold drink and return. If I live through that I may aim at the lake for more fishing! Wish me luck, I have the self disipline of a three year old.

Sunday we went shopping for groceries and ended up with bushes and flowers for the side of the house. We chopped out 4 evergreens that were over 20 years old and out of control. Mate bouught a chipper and we are turning them into mulch for the same area and replanting it.

While it was cold again we still planted the bushes but I am waiting on the geraniums and other flowers till the frost is past.

I also had to hustle around and hang the oriel feeder as I spotted a pair of them looking at last weeks oranges I had out! They have stayed two days now and I hope to keep them for the season. The female humming birds are back, two and I have two feeders up for them.

Our favorite cousins on the mate's side dropped in and we had a great visit. He had a new gutiar and I got mine out to show him some chords to a song he wanted to learn. She had new teen kid stories to tell, sadly. Boy am I glad mine are wonderful adults now and not hormone driven, self centered, selfish monsters anymore!

Then the daughter called for a phone visit and we got caught up with each other. I love listening to what she has thought up to test her limits next. The boy didn't call but he is coming over next weekend with his wife and the gdaughter to make us a Mother's Day dinner! The other three girls are doing fine. Eldest gdaughter had her birthday the 13th, she's two.

Tonight I pick up straw to bury plants in and go for my second ride. I was going to keep an exercise journal like I see some of the "real" dieters and atheleats do just so I could write that before I left the yard I put a rear view mirror on the bike, it already had correct reflectors. Have purchased a horn and will get small water pistol to fill with watered down ammonia for dogs (or annoying kids). I don't know how people ride with no mirrors. I know I can't turn around to look or look under my arm and be sure I saw it all.

On my first ride I wore fancy mirror sunglasses, denim jacket, long sleeve shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, leather riding gloves. It was cold and I was pretty sure almost anything could make me tip over. I always wipe out my hands so I wear gloves now.

My distance was 4 blocks and a short driveway. The time was about 3 minutes. The thighs started to burn in the second block on the barely noticeable up grade but I made it!