Welcome Elizabeth

Happy Birthday Elizabeth. I'm so glad that you finally arrived. You were born into a very fabulous family and you have three great older sisters. Not to mention the aunts, uncles and cousins who are glad you are here. I better not forget your parents. When I come see you next week, I'll fill you in on them and what you will need to remember.

Retail Therapy

I highly recommend retail therapy. On Thursday I had my dental appointment. After spending two hours in the dentist's chair, I was so traumatized that I needed therapy.

The dentist took a bunch of x-rays of my teeth, measured my mouth and a bunch of other stuff. Then they numbed my mouth and my lower right side was cleaned and probed. They didn't do the upper right because my front teeth are still pretty tender. The dentist is pleased at how well I'm healing. Now my teeth are just tender, no longer sore. When I go back in a month, that's when I get the rest of my teeth cleaned and probed.

It took about a couple hour for the numbness to go away and then I was just sore the rest of the day, but my therapy session really helped.

First I did something sensible, got the oil changed in my car for my road trip to California. Then the therapy session started. I first bought two new pair of jeans. Tried on a bunch of clothes, very fun. Only came out with the 2 pair. On to the next store. It was here that I bought my snickers. I got 2 bags for $4. I left one bag here at home, but a little imp who lives in my house found them. Today there are only 2 left and I only ate one at home. The other bag I took to the office. These are used for my chocolate fix. Snickers is my favorite candy bar. The bags I bought are the mini sized ones. Since they are on sale for Halloween, I have plenty of time to stock up.

Next stop was the mall. I wanted to get a new pair of shoes, but couldn't find the pair that I wanted. Will get that on my next therapy session.

Got home in plenty of time to relax before heading off to our martial arts classes.

I highly recommend this type of therapy for everyone. It was so relaxing and fun.

I was bummed out when I found out my newest niece is being a difficult child. She decided that she didn't want her birthday on Friday. But that's ok, as long as she decides her birthday is before I get to her house for a week long visit.

Friday was also a good day. I got a huge raise at work. With retroactive pay included, my check was pretty nice. Wish all my checks were like that. I am excited, first we were only going to get $1 an hour raise, but I actually got over $2 an hour. I was in shock, but I'll take it.

Finally Able To Ride

We were finally able to take the bike out for a ride today. After two weeks of rain and me recovering from my injury, we got the bike out today for the Chapter meeting and ride. It was a little foggy this morning, but burned off fast. We did go out for coffee with the bike and it was pretty cool out. We met up with a couple friends at the truck stop. They were going on a different ride with a different motorcycle group, but we all ended up at the same place.

We made our way to the dealership and I tried on some chaps. We now know why people wear chaps, to help stay warm on cool days. Also it helps protect you from bugs and tiny rocks. Let me tell you, trying on chaps is quite an ordeal. First of all, sizes at the dealership run small, so nothing like having to wear the next size up. Second, one needs to remember that chaps goes over jeans. Keeping all of that in mind, it's not so bad wearing a larger size than normal. Didn't buy a pair, not at $190. There is a site where we can get leather gear alot cheaper. The group met at the dealership. Today was the day for the chapter picture, then on to the meeting.

The picture was taken at Veterans Park which is next to Rocky Mountain College. There were about 50 bikes all together today. When we arrived at the park, there was a young mother with her children who were going to get out and play in the park, but as soon as all these bikes arrived, the kid slammed the door and the mom just wanted to get out of there. I thought she was going to run us over, but she did manage to keep her cool. She did get out of there unscathed. All of us were laughing about how mean we bikers are. We all got together for the photo. It will turn out nice, we had the eagle statue in the background. After the photo, we all made our way to Strokers in Huntley.

We arrived at Strokers and you should have seen all the bikes parked in the lot. The other bike group was having their September 11 Memorial Poker Run and Strokers was a stop off point for them. There must have been about 80 bikes in the parking lot, not to mention that the bar was full of bikers eating. It was quite a sight to see.

We had our meeting, which are never very long, then made our way home. From Huntley we took Pryor Creek Road. It is only about 5 to 6 miles and we cut out about 10 miles going on the interstate. Pryor Creek Road hits I-90 just at the bottom of the big Billings Hill.

All in all it was a very good day for a ride. The weather was perfect. No rain, no wind and it was comfortable.

Oh Happy Day

Yesterday I got my stitches out. YEAH!!!!! I was supposed to get them out on Thursday, but when I made the appointment at the Hardin Clinic, I couldn't get in until yesterday. Since I wasn't treated here, the doc wanted to make sure I was healing, especially since I'm "older". I told the receptionist that all it takes is a snip snip and tug tug. If I had tweezers and small scissors here at home, I would have done it myself.

Our doctor friend even offered to take them out for me, but since I already had the appointment I appreciated his help, but it was ok for me to go into the clinic. Looking back I should have taken up his offer. I didn't want to have my stitches taken out in the martial arts school.

I got to the clinic early because I knew I would have to fill out a ton of paperwork. The paperwork wasn't that bad, all I had to do was update my insurance information. I only had to wait in the waiting room for about 10 minutes before being called. The nurse called my name and then asked me what I was in for. Don't these people read.

She took my vitals and all of that good stuff. At least I didn't have to step on the scale. Then it was about a 30 minute wait. I had taken a book with me and got a couple chapters read. The doc finally came in and I had to retell my story to him.

This doc said that normally I should have come in 5 days after my accident. He said that he likes to take out stitches in 5 days to help avoid scarring. Scarring is the least of my worries. The doc at the ER in Columbus said to keep them in until Thursday. Give me a break.

He did say that I healed quite nicely for being "older", just treat it like a scratch. I still have to keep putting neosporin on it. I don't have to go back unless it gets infected or any problems.

I went back to the dentist on Wednesday. When I first went right after my accident he couldn't take any x-rays, I was too sore and swollen. At first he thought I would be ok, but now that has changed. I did more damage to my teeth than what was originally thought. I have to go back in two weeks and will let time tell. The dentist thinks that I will lose both my front teeth. He did say that one of the options available is to have a root canal, but he did say in honesty that a root canal probably won't work. One tooth did tighten back up, but not the other one. The lose one he sort of welded it to the next tooth and it does feel so much better now that it is stabilized.

Now that I got the stitches out I have to make an appointment to have my eyes checked. I do need new glasses anyway but the accident just moved it up a bit. I can't wait and see what the eye doctor says when he hears about my head trauma. When I fell, my glasses just fell off my face and I do have a deep scratch on the lens. I was very fortunate that they didn't break.

The scar above my eye doesn't look that bad and it will be hard to see. It is just above my eyebrow and if a person doesn't know that it is there won't notice it. I'm sure over the years it will fade.

Unforgetable Weekend

We had a very unforgetable weekend. We were invited to a BBQ at a friends cabin out of Absarokee along the Stillwater River. One of our adult students invited the whole martial arts school up to his cabin for a BBQ and Camp Out. It was the weekend before school started and he thought that it would be a great time to have everyone relax and just have fun before serious business started.

Not everyone was able to come due to other committments, but there were 12 of us there. Gary and I arrived at the cabin at around 2:00 in the afternoon after a bit of searching. We forgot to bring the map that was made and we drove up the road too far. He did say that he would have his turn off well marked with streamers and balloons. We found it on our way back, never did see the streamers and balloons because there wasn't any. His son had put out a paper plate that read "Doc's Cabin". Our friend is a medical doctor and everyone in class just calls him Doc.

When we got there Doc and his family and another student of ours was already there. It was about an hour later when the other family of 5 arrived. The kids had a good time swimming, tubing, canoeing and fishing in the river, while us adults sat on the cabin's porch watching.

The cabin was located in a beautiful and peaceful place along the river. The current wasn't strong at all and the water was calm for the kids to enjoy. Since we were in the foothills of the Beartooth mountains it was very comfortable to enjoy the outside.

Here is where the unforgetable part comes in. I had decided to go for a walk up river with another couple just before dinner. Doc was doing all the cooking and wouldn't accept any help, except Gary was able to help cut up vegetables. My friends and I were enjoying our walk and we must have walked about half a mile up river on the rocks. A deer even cut in front of our path and there were times when we stopped just to enjoy the view. Visited with a couple of fishermen along the way. We were about half way back when tragedy struck. You got it, I lost my footing on a loose rock and fell down hard. We were on the little rocks by this time. I was able to cut my eye and knock my two front teeth loose. Needless to say I scared the daylights out of my friends. He went running up ahead to get Doc. I really couldn't see anything because my glasses fell off my face and I had no clue where they were or if they were in one piece and I had blood running all over my face. My first thought was great here I go again and I didn't want any of the kids to see me bleeding all over. I was just upset with myself for ruining everyone's weekend. My friends were blaming themselves.

I got cleaned up as best as I could and Gary made the drive to the ER. Keep in mind that the closest ER is 30 miles down the road. Gary made the drive in no time, I wasn't sure if we were going to get there in one piece. He was speeding and passing cars when it wasn't necessary. We arrived at the ER and I got 7 stitches above my left eye. Gary had my glasses, so I was finally able to see. After we were done in the ER and got my instructions, I insisted on getting a mirror so that I could see what I looked like.

Gary wanted to come home to Hardin, a 90 mile drive, but I insisted on going back to the cabin. I wanted to assure everyone that I was ok, especially the kids. The Doc's 4 year old daughter in her wisdom had informed me that I had gone too far on the rocks. Gary wasn't happy about it, but we did go back to the cabin. I had to stay awake until after midnight anyway and I figured that nothing else could go wrong. Gary was envisioning a mad dash back to the ER in the middle of the night. He was thinking that the worst was going to happen. I was fine.

We came home Sunday afternoon and I spent the rest of the day napping and relaxing. My eye is very colorful right now. I did go back to work on Tuesday and I do get tired at the end of the day. The top of the eye is yellow, my eyelid and towards my nose is red and now I'm bruising up above the gash on my forehead. I didn't swell up as bad as everyone expected and my glasses and hair cover up most of the stuff. My knee is also very colorful and it hurts worse than my eye.

I get to have the stitches out next Thursday and I'm looking forward to that. I can just go to the clinic here and have them taken out instead of going all the way back to Columbus.I did see a dentist and he said that my teeth are ok, but only time will tell if I loose them. I don't look as bad as Mom did when she wrecked on the bike. She has me beat there. My nose isn't broken, but since my eye is bruised it is sore.

I am going to have to get new glasses though, as the lens has a deep scratch on it from rocks. But I won't be making that appointment until I am healed up.

I aged Gary a few more years, poor guy. Mom did tell me to take it easy on him. I am only allowed to walk on level ground. Doc saw me yesterday and he was so surprised at how well I look. Not too sure what I am supposed to look like, but I think it's bad enough.

That was my unforgetable weekend. On top of all of this I did have a tetnus shot, so it will be easy to remember when I got one.

Happy Birthday Mary

Forty some years ago I was blessed with a life long best friend. Yep, my little sister was born on this day. Growing up we had our usual sibling fights, but since we reached our adult years and moved many miles apart, we are the best of friends.

It wasn't easy growing up with a little sister just a couple years younger than you. She was so stubborn, that at times she forgot who the big sister was. I tried to boss her around and she wasn't going to mind me. I think she forgot where her place was in the family line. No matter what, I was always going to be the oldest and I wouldn't let her forget it. I can proudly say that we've never had a fight where we didn't speak to each other. Looking back all our fights were very petty way back when, but at the time they were important to us.

Through the years I learned how great it is to have a life long best friend. One who would always be around and listen to your lifes problems. Growing up we have also gone on our own ways and started our own lives and moved many miles apart.

Every chance we get, we always stay in touch and it is so nice to finally get together on all those special occasions.

Have a very Happy Birthday Mary. I love you.

Harley Vacation

We survived our Harley vacation. The first thing I had to learn was how to pack light and I mean very light. We both had to share one small bag with all of our stuff. I managed to get all of that done. Not much room left before all the necessities like helmets, rain gear, leather coats. Our trunks actually hold quite a bit. We left on Saturday morning for our first stop in Gardiner. It was a nice day for riding, we ran into road construction just before Gardiner. It wasn't that bad, had to follow a pilot car for 12 miles. The road was chip sealed but it was pretty well packed down when we went through. By this time there was some very dark rain clouds overhead and we beat them to Gardiner. The storm hit about 2 hours later. We had just parked the bike and got inside the restaurant when the storm hit. We got hail and heavy rain. We stayed inside until the storm blew over, but it sure was a wet and cold ride back to the motel. Fortunately we didn't have to go very far. It had rained all through the night.

Woke up the next morning and it was pretty cloudy and gloomy. We put on our rain gear because the bike was all wet and needed the extra layers for warmth. Good thing we put the gear on inside, it took us about 15 minutes to get it on. If a storm came through we would just get all wet before we got all of this gear on. We headed on to Yellowstone Park. Even though the speed limit in the park is 45, it was very cold. We stopped in Mammoth to check out the map and decide where we want to go. Our first stop was the Upper Terrace at Mammoth. We sure liked walking around to get warmed up. From Mammoth we made our way to Canyon. By this time it was warming up pretty good, so at Canyon we peeled off our rain gear and put on the leather coats. My goal at Canyon was to see the lower falls, but not to be. The road was closed for construction, so we drove the South Rim. We went to Artist's Point to see the falls. I have never been to Artist Point and it sure was a very pretty view. From here we did stop to see the view of the Upper Falls, then we made our way around to the Brink of the Upper Falls. From here, you are just above the falls. Walking around in riding boots is quite a work out. It feels like I literally have 5 pound weights on my feet. From Canyon we made our way up to Tower. The road started out pretty good, but soon we ran into switch back curves. Gary has been avoiding going on any switch backs because steering the bike is alot different than the 2 wheelers. He did a fantastic job. He was glad to get to Tower to have a break. We went to the falls overlook and then had our ice cream. From Tower we went to see the petrified tree. The few miles it took was the worst roads ever. The stretch had holes, ruts and everything you could think of. We reached the petrified tree and then from there we made our way back to Gardiner. Gary was tired from all of that driving.

The next morning we had to pack up and head on our way to West Yellowstone. Today was a short drive. Made our way, but first we stopped at Norris, went throught the Ranger Museum and then walked the Porcelain Basin loop at Norris. From Norris made our way to West Yellowstone. We were a bit early so we ate lunch and walked around town a bit. Gary's bike was a hit with the foreign visitors. Our pictures were taken alot. I told Gary that he could stand on a corner and make money to pay for our vacation. He could even charge to give rides. We went to the hotel and was told in no certain terms could we check in until after 3:00 pm. It was 2:30 when we went to check in. After we checked in, we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. It was very interesting and I got alot of good photos of the bears and wolves. We stayed at the Days Inn because we like the hotel and the breakfasts are usually pretty good, except at this one. There is a restaurant attached to the motel and guests are supposed to get a free breakfast. When you check in, you receive your coupons for the breakfast. They only give out 2 coupons per room. For us it didn't matter, but for people with more than 2 that would be a problem.

Tuesday morning we headed down for our free breakfast. You don't get a choice for breakfast, it is only one, eggs, hashbrowns, choice of bacon, sausage or ham and toast. The breakfast was horrible. First everything was cold. The toast was so cold that it wouldn't melt the butter. We even had to pay for our tea and coffee. We ordered a side of pancakes and had to pay for that too. After breakfast we left to see Old Faithful. No more rain, but the mornings are cold enough to wear our leather coats. Our first stop was the Fountain Paint Pot and then Old Faithful. We knew we were going to be at Old Faithful for a while. We had just missed the eruption so had to wait for about 90 minutes. We walked around Geyser Hill first then made our way to see Old Faithful. We had about a 30 minute wait but it was starting to get full of visitors. After the eruption, we made our way to Morning Glory. This was a 3 mile walk round trip. Not the easiest walk wearing riding boots. Those boots were not made for walking. My feet hurt so bad after the walk that all I wanted to do was take them off. The only wildlife we saw this time was one buffalo and one coyote. Just before leaving the park, we did see a herd of cow elk.

After eating our cold breakfast, we checked out of the motel and got ready for the ride to Cody. This time we went to Fishing Bridge by way of Canyon. We hit Hayden Valley and a ton of buffalo. We got caught in a buffalo jam for about 15 minutes. Got a ton of pictures of all the buffalo, but being on a bike with the buffalo right there is pretty nerve racking. I was more worried about what the idiot visitors were going to do. There were some baby calves in the heard, and of course that was the picture the visitors wanted. A few were even inching their way close to the babies. We did manage to make our way through the jam. One buffalo was so close the road road that I could have reached out and petted him. Not too sure how the buffalo are going to react with the noise of the bike. We figure that by this time of year the buffalo are so tired of people that they don't care. Made our way to Fishing Bridge and it was a good time for a break before heading off to Cody.

Left the park, but the ride to Cody was pretty smoky with the fire in the Shoshone National Forest. There were alot of signs warning motorists of fire activity, but we got through just fine. You can see where the fire got close to the highway, but we were fortunate to just have smoke. No smoke in the park, but very smoky in Cody. We checked into our hotel, relaxed a bit before dinner. After eating BBQ made our way back to the motel.

Got up early because the weather forecast didn't sound good. It was very windy and cold on the way home, we managed to miss the rain storms. We were just behind them. It was good to get home.

It was a nice vacation and ended too fast as usual. Riding through the park on a motorcycle is a very pleasing experience. You get to see the park in a whole new way. I think you see more than you would in a car. I got to enjoy the views very well, but Gary had to drive and pay attention. I did get alot of great photos and working on getting those sorted and ready to post on my flickr sight.