Trike News Update

Tuggy has been keeping me 'in the know' about how things are coming along with my bike to trike conversion. It is still in the planning stages at this point, though much progress has been made in this area. He, with the help of friends of his that are knowledgeable about motorcycles &/or welding and fabricating, has been working at creating a new & better type of trike conversion than he has used in the past. This one will be a bolt on type where the bike will not be altered at all. Once the trike part is manufactured, it will be as simple as removing the back wheel of the bike & bolting on the trike. If at some point down the road I no longer want to have it as a trike, or if I want a larger, more powerful ride, this can be easily put back to a 2 wheeled bike and with very few modifications the trike section can be bolted to a different bike and I'm on a 3 wheeler again.

The planning stage is pretty much done now, most of the parts are bought, the next thing is to purchase the supplies the welder/fabricator will need to do the work. This will be the most costly part of it all, I'm sure. It's also a most exciting part.

Over lunch recently, Tuggy & I were talking & I said I feel I should learn some basic 'wrenching' for my 'ride'. This is so that I can do basic upkeep on it as well as, if I break down somewhere along the road I can do my own basic repair work. Tuggy said he'll give me names & numbers of people he knows that, if I ever break down while riding in the Kootenay region of our province, I can give a call & they will come help me. I think he even said he had some friends like this in other areas where I might be too. I think that's awesome that people would come rescue a broken down rider like this. I know Gord did this kind of thing many times when he was still on Earth. This is what we call Good Samaritans. I guess I could call this my good sam mechanical breakdown insurance. Haha. Riding with other people, on the back of their bikes over the years, I always liked the way most 'bikers' or 'motorcycle enthusiasts' wave to each other as they meet along the highways. It's a 'brotherhood' of sorts.... a brother/sisterhood I am so happy to be joining.

Christmas

Hello my friends. Sorry I've been absent so long, life has been hectic this Holiday Season as well as I've not had a lot to say. While driving my truck down the road I 'write' a post to you in my head, then when I get home to my computer I have totally forgotten what I wanted to say and I don't even want to write. This is very upsetting for a writer as I'm sure you can imagine. Also, I've been feeling very tired so not into the computer stuff too much.

Enough of that.... lets move on to happier stuff!!!

Was Santa good to you this year?? Sure was to me. I got some great gifts. Oh, maybe I could have asked for a nordictrack incline trainer to get some exercise, but I knew no one would get it for me anyway, not even Mr. Claus himself. In fact, I didn't actually ask for anything from anyone.

Between the Toastmasters Christmas Party & gift exchange, the TOPS Christmas party with gift exchange, the gal friends gift exchange with Pat, DJ, Pauline & I and the family, as well as Tuggy I was very blessed & prospered. I was going to show you what I gave everyone this year and can't seem to find them on this computer. I guess they're on the other one and on my flash drive, so will show you another time. What I will show you is on of the gifts I got.

This beautiful piece of art was done by Tuggy. I took a photo that I'd taken when on the memorial ride with him, on the back of his Harley trike, and a poem I had written 10 days before Christmas, then with Photoshop I put them together and got it printed out 8x10, then matted it. I know he was very happy with it and the friend of his that was along when I gave it to him was very impressed. I am very happy with this:




Mewsic didn't want to move so I could take a photo of this, so I took some of her while I was at it, lol. I went to hang the picture and the thing where the wire goes through bent so won't hold the picture up. It came to me in the frame so I don't want to change it, so will have to think of some other way to safely display it.

Light Mail

Daily Inspiration: A good marriage is the union of two forgivers. ~Ruth Bell Graham

Today’s Affirmation: Forgiveness starts with me; I choose to release my righteousness now.

Today's Spiritual Contemplation: Forgiveness is the simple choice to selfishly release any dark feelings because joy feels a whole lot better.

Light Mail is put out by Rev. Dale Jukes of the Okanagan Centre For Spiritual Living.

Tranquility

I found a picture on the net of the exact same Tranquility Tray I told you about in my last post.

I think I'll add some of my own special stones to this, maybe other little things too, if it seems like they are meant to be there.

I am grateful for this beautiful gift.

Thursday December 10

Up early, got ready to go to TOPS. Had an acid reflux 'event' so had to get that under control before I left. I was late for the weigh in so went straight to the hall we'd rented for our Christmas Party. We had such a great time... awesome food, incredible ladies, loads of fun. Pat decorated the hall Wednesday evening and did a fabulous job of it, then some others of us added a few bits. Francis took a 'Charlie Brown Tree' that was so cute & decorated with hand made decorations that Francis gave to all of us. I took my live Poinsettia & my little fiber optic tree. We all took gifts and did a gift exchange, all were great gifts and it seemed that we each picked what was perfect for us even not knowing what was in them until we opened them. The one I chose turned out to be a Tranquility Tray (very nice wooden tray with compartments for the candles, stones, sand that came with it). We had games, won prizes, etc. When all was done, we all cleaned up the hall them most went home. DJ, Francis, Paulene & I all went to McDonald's for tea/coffee & to visit, as if we hadn't been together long enough already. :o) After Francis & Paulene left, I stayed with DJ while she waited for her husband Rolland to come get her after he got off work. Then we all visited while he had coffee & fries.

There was a tiny skiff of snow while we were in McDonald's, then I left & drove back here. They always get more snow there than we do here and it's only a 15 minute drive, so a bit strange.

Watched a bit of TV for the evening & enjoyed time with my animals.

I am grateful for TOPS helping me to conform/transform my body into a healthier, slimmer body
I am grateful for the wonderful friends I've made in my TOPS group
I am grateful for the support we give each other in this group
I am grateful for the things this group does together
I am grateful to have become friends with DJ & Rolland

I was going to tell you about today too... but it's take me all night to do this much. I'll tell you why tomorrow. It's now 4:55am and I should get some sleep soon.

:o)

Inspirational

I took this photo awhile ago... hanging on a friend's fridge. I liked what it said.

Click on it to make it big for easier reading.

Quotes

"Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviors, their beliefs, bring you an inner peace and tranquility -- instead of anger and resentment."
- Unknown


"To succeed, it is necessary to accept the world as it is - and rise above it."
- Michael Korda

Duh... What's Up, Doc?

Another busy week in progress. I've stayed away far too long and forget most of what I've been doing. Oh well... here's some anyway.

Friday December 4: Made a trip out to Falkland to pick up a part for my trike & take it to Tuggy. We spent some time looking at trikes online, seeing some of the vastly different looks & styles of trikes. Then I came back to town & met Don for dinner. I met him back in mid October through mutual friends, Stacia & Lucky, & I had told Stacia that if he asked for my phone number she could give it to him. I guess he must have asked. We sat in Denny's Restaurant eating & talking for about 5 hours. Had a good time.

Saturday December 5: Hmmmm.... I know I did something, just can't think right now what it was. There is a possibility I may have stayed home that day... or not.

Sunday December 6: Went to the Centre for Spiritual Living for the Service. I am doing the Book of the Month for December, so I read a small sampling from the book I chose, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I also told a bit about the family we've 'adopted' for Christmas. A single Mom with 2 young daughters, what they need, what they like, sizes, things like that. The service was followed by Pot Luck Lunch. Wow, so much food and lots of people stayed to eat it. Fabulous!!

Monday December 7: Went to Aqua Therapy at the Rec. Centre, then soaked in the hot tub & had a nice shower. Went to the Chiropractor for a treatment, stiff sore neck = headaches. Hoping it is last one I need for this year. Did some work on my speech for Toastmasters tomorrow eve.

Tuesday December 8: Dan came by and brought in some bags of pellets for my stove as I didn't want to pack them after getting a chiropractic treatment. Unfortunately, he brought in the wrong ones, 3 of 4 bags that had gotten rained on so the pellets were partially/largely ruined, turned to sawdust. He didn't realize this would be a problem. It is. I didn't notice until after he had gone.

Phoned Don to wish him a happy birthday. He sounded very happy & impressed that I'd bothered. Well hey, he told me on Friday night when his birthday was, so what the heck. :o)

Graig came by to look at my place as a possible location to park his motor home become trailer to live in. He decided it would be too hard for the tow truck driver to get it in here. I think he's a bit 'off' on this, but okay. We had a nice visit and talked about a writing project that we may be undertaking together in near future. That would be awesome. He and I seem to work well together, inspiring each other to new & greater ideas & heights in our writing. Then we both went to the Rec. Centre to the pool... him to water walk, steam room, hot tub... me to Aqua Therapy & hot tub. After that, he offered to buy me dinner, so we went for Chinese.

For the evening I went to my Toastmasters meeting, our last until January. I'd not had much time to work on my speech, so I read more of it than I like to, much prefer to not use my notes, or if I have to, just use them a wee bit. Oh well, it was what it was. This was a 5 part project about Negotiating.
1- pick a partner & together decide on a scenario to roll play.
2- give a 4-5 minute speech on the Negotiation process so the audience will understand what it's about.
3- give a short introduction of my partner & the scenario we will be roll playing
4- do a 3-5 minute roll play
5- hold a 2-3 minute informal discussion about what could have been done better/differently to better accomplish the goal of negotiating.
I also gave the Toast for the evening. I almost forgot about it, then driving out there remembered and, in my head as I drove, I prepared & rehearsed the Toast.

I got on the computer & don't really remember what I did, maybe Reba took over my body. I do know though that I didn't come to bed until 4am. I texted Wendy just before I turned out the light. She was already up, starting her day.

Wednesday December 9: Got up around 11am, prepared to go to the Centre & do my usual Wednesday job of creating the Sunday Programs. I discovered that the water pipes were frozen, so this took priority over the Programs which I can do another day so long as it's before Sunday. I cranked the furnace up high so it would send heat down under my mobile home and turned on the cold water tap in the bathtub. I talked to Dan on MSN & we decided I'd go to Canadian Tire and buy a Heat Tape, he'd come over & go underneath to install it. When he got under there he found there was already one there though it had been removed from an area where a plumber had done a repair. He fixed this up and plugged it in. This has been under there since before I owned this place, this is my 2oth winter here & I've never used it, it's been bitter cold lately though we have had colder & my pipes haven't frozen, the pellet stove doesn't send heat down below though this is the 4th winter I've used mainly this source of heat and until now have had no problems. So what is the problem now? Well, there is a piece of blue Styrofoam type insulation board covering the hole to the underneath and this had somehow gotten knocked down, so was wide open. A cat perhaps? Could be. Guess I need to do something there to stop this kind of thing from happening again.

I went out this evening with Wendy to the Army Navy Air Force club. Met lots of nice people and enjoyed my evening. On the way home I went to Superstore to get groceries. Once home I grabbed my laptop & came to the bedroom. I didn't want to turn on all the lights out there & wake up the birds. It's healthier for them to get their proper sleep and all too often they don't due to being in the living room.

Since this is so long and I have a big day tomorrow, early-for-me morning, I am not going to add the Gratitude List tonight. Will tomorrow though. I have much to be grateful for and I am very grateful for that. I am also very grateful that somewhere along the line I learned the power of gratitude.

Thursday December 3

I was hitting the snooze button until the knock came on the door. I knew it was Dan as he'd said he'd be over to put a new anti-virus program on both my computers because I've used AVG until now, but they are no longer free. What he brought didn't want to work on either of my pc's, so he said he has another one that he'll bring by another day. By the time I got ready and out of here I ended up being a few minutes late getting to my TOPS meeting. Not good, but oh well, life is what it is. I had to weigh in after the meeting, so it will go on next week's record. The weight recorders don't like it when this happens.

After TOPS, as usual, I went for lunch with the ladies, then some of us went to the Bargain Bin thrift shop. I got a blouse and a couple nice sweaters, 3 glass containers, some buttons, and a really nice sweater vest that I think will be great for Mom. I'll give it to her as one of her Christmas gifts... or maybe a 'pre' Christmas gift. :o)

Next I went to visit Mom. We went out to a Greek restaurant for dinner and shared a delicious chicken dinner and a cheese cake. Driving back to the town she lives in, I said "I should let you drive yourself home and I'll walk". The silly old lady took me seriously!!! Well, she didn't have me walk from out on the highway where we were, but did suggest I stop on Main Street, so I did. She drove herself home & I walked. It took me less than 10 minutes to get there so I was 'hoofing it' fairly good, though it's really not a great distance. I was having some pains in my chest & throat for a bit, though knew it was acid reflux and not my heart. On the way into town earlier, I had stopped at the drug store and picked up a bottle of Gaviscon and drank some & when I got back to Mom's I drank some more. I was on prescription meds for this for awhile (Nexium) and may have to go back on it again. I went off once I was feeling good again. I don't like taking drugs, but my medical covers the cost of prescriptions while this Gaviscon cost me over $14!!! That's not going to happen too often! Not long ago, Dr. Oz said that Himalayan Chrystal Salt helps stop acid reflux. I bought some and when I have an attack I do eat some straight salt as well as occasionally use it on food (I rarely ever put salt on my food, now if I do I make it the H. Crystal Salt). Maybe I have to use it more often in order to get lasting effects.

After I got back to Mom's, we played Tri-Ominos (a variant of dominoes using triangular tiles) for awhile. It was great. Back & forth, up and down, finally ending with me winning by not by very many points. Mom gave me some bean soup & some juice to bring home, as well as some Kale.

Jerry, my friend in WA. had left me 3 messages Wednesday, then wasn't answering when I called & left him message when I got home. So tonight I saw he left me another message. I called & left him a message. He called back and I answered. Finally the end of Telephone Tag, the chance to chat awhile.

It's taken me forever to write the above... between phone ringing and MSN messages... sheeesh!! Gotta run!! Later!

Competing with an Injured Horse?

I was over visiting Claire at Claire's Garden and saw this post. I 'borrowed' it for her, including her fabulous photo, so I could further the cause. Competing on an injured horse that is doped up on pain killing drugs will only further injure the horse. Nothing is important enough to do that!

SAY NO!!

This site has a petition against allowing horses to be used in competition if they are on Bute or other painkillers. Please add your name if you think competing on an injured horse is wrong.

Wednesday December 2

It was a good day today. Once the house was warmed up & I the spilled tea cleaned up as much as is possible, the wet bedding placed to dry, I got dressed & went to town. I picked up Lorraine & took her to Safeway then we went to the Centre. Actually, I stopped at the Salvation Army Thrift Store on the way there to see if they had any crochet hooks. They didn't. There was no parking spot at the Centre, so I dropped Lorraine off and went to find one. Actually, I went to the Upper Room Mission Thrift Store and got 2 crochet hooks as well as a few other little things, then went back to the Centre & there was a parking spot waiting for me. We did the programs, then I updated the Membership List, put names in for the gift draw we will have on Sunday, & I made posters to put around the place, telling about the family we've 'adopted' for Christmas. A mother & 2 girls in need of food etc. to make this a happy season. Some things have already been brought in as I've told some about this on Sundays, though I just got the info about how many, what genders, ages, things like that. Lorraine's son Alan had come by earlier to give her a ride home, so I was able to take the extra time without worrying about running her home, so that was good.

I had purchased a phone set from Canadian Tire and really liked it except that the quality just was not good. It was a base with answering machine that held 1 handset, and a charger that held a second handset, cordless phones by the way. I had the base in the living room and the charger in the bedroom. Unfortunately, the speaker phones didn't work and when talking on the phones they kept cutting out. I figured if they did this when new, give them awhile and they'd get really bad. So today I took them back & got my money back.

I went to WalMart to get something for supper and while there Wendy text messaged me & asked if I'd like to meet her at the Army Navy Air Force club. I said sure and only got some crackers. At the ANAF I had chicken fingers & shared the fries with Wendy. I'm not a drinker, so even in a bar like that I drink tea or Club Soda, tonight it was tea as I like hot drinks in cold weather. It's been so long since I hung out in bars & night clubs that when I first started going the occasional time to meet Wendy at the ANAF, I didn't feel really comfortable, though this evening I had a really nice time, met new people, laughed, flirted some, just had a nice time. Wendy & I left there about 9:30 & I got to meet her new dog, Brinks, who was waiting in the car for her. He's a beautiful German Shepherd she bought from the RCMP. He failed as a police dog because he is gun shy.

Since I got home I talked with my neighbor, put more pellets in the stove just to be sure, visited my pets, crocheted a snowflake, blogged, did stuff on FaceBook and now must go to sleep as I have to get up in the morning. Thursday is always a full day.

I am grateful for Lorraine's help with the programs
I am grateful for my pellet stove and my stock of pellets
I am grateful for my nice warm bed (which I am lying in now with my laptop)
I am grateful I have a home to live in
I am grateful to be part of helping a family have a great Christmas. This is my 3rd year heading up this 'adoption' process.
I am grateful to have those phones returned & my money back.
I am grateful to know that when it is meant to happen I will find just the right & perfect set of cordless phones for my needs and they will be on a great sale.
I am grateful that I remember how to crochet after so many years of not doing it.
I am grateful I found good patterns for crocheting snowflakes on the internet.
I am grateful for all the things I find on the internet. It is such a wonderful resource.
I am grateful my bed is dry after spilling tea on it earlier today.
I am grateful for all the opportunities that come my way, to laugh & enjoy my life.
I am grateful I have my clothes ready for tomorrow.
I am grateful that I always have much to be grateful for.

Random Thoughts

Here are some rather random, and perhaps strange, thoughts:
- I need to write a speech for Tuesday evening
- Christmas is coming to quickly
- I bought some crochet hooks at the thrift store today because I don't know where all of mine are. It's been a very long time since I've crocheted anything and I decided I want to do a bunch of different snowflakes to give to friends for Christmas.
- I've never seen any Toto sinks other than in photos on the internet.
- This morning the house was very cold as the pellets had run out and the stove shut down. I had to clean the stove, bring in a bag of pellets, and restart the fire.
- I came back to bed to do computer stuff while the house warmed up. I brought my cup of tea. The phone rang, some telemarketer or something like that. I spilled me tea all over the bed, so told her I couldn't talk right then and hung up on her.
- Friday & Miracle (Parrotlets) have consummated their relationship at least 3 times that I know of and each day I check the nest box hoping to find and egg... so far none. With these little birds the eggs must be super tiny.

People Watching

Today I was in town & picked up Lorraine to take her to the Centre with me so she could help with putting together the programs for Sunday. She usually gets herself there, though with this cold weather I decided to give her a ride. She wanted to stop at Safeway to get a coffee from the Starbucks inside, so I waited in the truck while she went in. I was watching people come and go. One was a man pulling a suitcase on wheels behind him, I had to wonder if he was homeless and that was his only belongings. I also noticed 2 women that were wearing shorter dresses & panty hose, at least one had boots but the first one I saw wore high heals, carried 2 bags of groceries & walked down the street. The second one may have had a car, I didn't see exactly where she went. People looking fairly comfortable while others were bundled up, looking cold on this coldest day we've had in 9 months or more.

When people watching, you can come up with interesting stories about their lives, or you can come up with all sorts of questions you could ask them if you ever were to talk to them.
- What's in the bag?
- Do you eat meat?
- Do you smoke cigarettes?
- Do you take weight loss supplements?
- Do you eat health foods?
- Are you married?
- Do you have any children?
- What are your plans for Christmas?

Yes, while you wait for someone, sitting there in the warmth & comfort of your vehicle, people watching can be an interesting pass time.

December 1st

Read until about 4:30am, just couldn't put my book down (Pay It Forward) until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. At about 1/4 to 10 this morning the phone woke me up. Okay, after I talked a bit I was awake and decided that I would get up to take the covers off the bird cages, then come back to bed. I never made it back to bed until now. (Well, almost now... I was over on FaceBook). I made myself some porridge, fed Reba & Mewsic & all the birds. After some computer stuff and throwing in a load of laundry, and talking on the phone to Tuggy & a few others (phone just didn't want to stop ringing today) & changing my bedding as well as raising the head of the bed 4", I phoned a motorcycle dealer in Williams Lake to order a swing arm for my Yamahaha 650 Maxim. Tuggy needs to extend it to be long enough for using on my trike... he doesn't want to use the one that came on the bike as he wants to save all the parts so it can be put back to a 2 wheeler some day if I ever decide I want to sell it and get a bigger bike to put the back wheels on. At first there was no answer when I phoned there, so I thought they were out for lunch. Turns out they're closed for the winter and it's just by what people call luck that he came in to do something and I phoned just then. Good thing or I'd be up that creek without a paddle. By then I had to rush to the pool for Aqua Therapy. Sure was glad I went.

After therapy then sitting in the hot tub awhile, I showered & dressed, blow dried my hair before heading out into the cold, then out to the truck to go shopping. I went to Dollarama to get some light bulbs as some of mine burned out and I was needing to replace them. Then to Superstore to get milk, bathroom tissue, a can of garbanzo beans (chick peas) & a loaf of bread. Now home.

Tonight was Toastmasters, so after a short time at home I was off again. It was a great evening, I was one of the speech evaluators. I found out tonight that I am giving a speech next Tuesday, so guess I better get to work on it.

Due to acid reflux, I had to have the head of my bed raised 6" and after a fairly long time of this I decided (when I moved my bed into a different room a couple weeks ago) to put it back down and give it a try. You see, with it that high I always slide down it when sleeping. I'll start out with my head close to the head board, then wake up 3 feet away from the headboard & my feet hanging over the foot board. Well, it was really nice having it down, but the last few days I've been having the mega chest pains, along with a couple other signs, that tell me the acid reflux is getting bad again. I took Himalayan Cristal Salt and that settled it down nicely, though figure I better raise the head of the bed again. So, I am trying it at 4" even though the Dr. says 6". If this doesn't work I can/will raise it the extra 2", but maybe this will work while being less of a grade will help me to stay on the silly thing.

Tonight I am having trouble staying awake, so think I'll go now. I brought the laptop to bed with me so the living room is dark & quiet and the birds can get a good nights sleep. Reba is outside so Mewsic is curled up in bed with me. I really wish she would spend the night with me like this, though I know when I go to let Reba in Mewsic will run & hide from the dog.

Dang it 's hard to believe it's already December... and the 1st is now behind us. It was a very clear, sunny, blue sky kind of day today with the coldest temps we've had so far this fall. Not sure what they got to, but when I went out around noonish to get a bag of pellets for the stove, it was +2 Celsius and I don't think it got much if any higher. This week is supposed to be sunny and cold. Oh well, I can always dress for the cold, I just want the sunshine!!

Well, 'night' for now my friends. See you soon.