Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Pepsi and a Pickle Day



Ever tried a pickle in your Pepsi? Everyone should try it once. I had a chance to have lunch with Lela and Mary Lynne today. As they get older I realize how precious these times are. They will become fewer and fewer as the days go by. My gosh they are growing up! In fact grown up would be a better description.

The day started out with me being at work by 6:15 am. I wanted to get some work done before the guys got there. I can do as much in an hour with no one there as I can in three during the day when I have the constant interruptions. I had to leave for a while because I had a PT appointment. Linda's tired of my whining so earlier in the week she drug me by my hair down to the Physical Therapist. So far so good. I hope the shoulder is responding but only time will tell.

Lela and her babysitting charge, Alora, 19 months old, met me at the therapist's clinic and watched while I was twisted and pull on. Afterwards we decided that Brandy's would be a good way to commiserate. I sat in the booth opposite Lela and Alora. Mindy came to join us during her lunch break. Lela had hot apple cider which came in a large mug. Alora decided that she needed the mug. After a bit of a discussion with her it was agreed that she could have her own mug. The waitress brought us an empty mug into which Alora promptly spooned some of Lela's cider. When my Pepsi came, Alora wanted to play with the straw. Soon the straw wasn't enough and the Pepsi was the only thing that would do. We put the Pepsi next to Alora's mug and she used her spoon to put Pepsi into it. I figured it was just a spoon and a little apple cider. Cider wouldn't be too bad; might even be good. I continued to drink the Pepsi.

Our lunch came. I had an egg on top of a pancake and Mindy and Lela shared a nice sandwich. The sandwich came with a pickle on the side. Alora likes pickles. And Pepsi. And pickles dipped into Pepsi. After sampling for myself I decided I didn't like the combination all that much. Alora got the rest of the Pepsi. Despite the loss of beverdge, I enjoyed the time with my daughters and will cherish all that I can manage to have.

Monday, December 1, 2008

It's Alive!

Frankenbike lives! Mike the Bike delivered it late this evening. When I pulled around the corner and saw it sitting in the driveway I was thrilled. I got off of The Beast and jumped on Frankenbike. It is totally different but so nice. The Beast is a V-Twin and has the attendant sound and vibration. Frankenbike is an inline 4 with stock exhaust which just sounds sweet. There are some other glaring differences as well; the seating position, the foot pegs, the narrowness of both the handlebars and gas tank. The most glaring difference is the positioning of the foot pegs. They are much further back than I'm used to. It's the same position as my Yamaha 250 dirt bike. Good for standing up on the pegs while going over the bumps and rocks off road but a little uncomfortable on the highway. Highway pegs mounted to the crash bars are in order. Possibly even forward controls. The latter are to be determined at a later date. The other differences are just differences, not annoyances. Like driving your '55 Chevy for awhile and then jumping in your Mustang. All the controls are there, they just look and feel different. Pictures of both bikes will be forthcoming. Give me a bit, I'll need to get both scooters out in the yard to take pictures. And do it before the snow flies.