That's gonna leave a mark!

For those of you who didn't know, I took the Rider's Edge course to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Today, I finished my fourth and final day. Both Saturday and Sunday were spent on the "range" for at least 8 hours each day. They put us through grueling exercises that taxed muscles I haven't heard from in 30 years. I always tried my hardest, even though the result wasn't always what the instructors were looking for. hehe. I tipped my bike over 2 times, both times were just stupid mistakes that were embarrassing and of course, I was the first to do something to feel stupid. Today we were back out at the range about 7:45 am ready to mount up and ride. Today is where I really felt the skills we were learning were really starting to go more smoothly...right up until I forgot to put my kickstand down and got off the bike with it landing on top of me. Good thing I took an icepack with me today! ha. We had our final evaluation on the range and if we passed, we could go take the written test. I PASSED!! I PASSED I PASSED I PASSED!!! Here are some pictures from class.

This fella is Marty. We both had to think a bit before we realized that we really did know each other. We met through Kevin & Mary Kahl who were our neighbors across the street for several years (and we still miss them). Marty was a great champion for the underdog (me) and helped me get through it with encouragement. Thanks Marty!Our fleet of Buehl Blast motorcycles (500cc).
See me? I'm the one with the orange hanky in her back pocket (thanks to Laura for the pics of me riding!)
We shared the range with FEMA trailers for the families who lost their homes in the flood.
Last but not least, my left leg with bruises that have just started getting their ugly colors. I hope I never have to "power walk" again!

I still have a long way to go before I feel comfortable joining regular traffic. I plan to hone my skills and then find someone to ride with...maybe Dave & Elaine? (hint hint)

Lesson #1

Dave at the Rochester, MN Harley dealership

Last night was the first night of the Rider's Edge class at the Harley dealer in Waterloo. We toured the dealership and were given a quick lesson on the different "families" of bikes HD makes. We saw the service area and the mass of bikes in for tune ups before Sturgis. We were shown the coolest leather motorcycle jacket ever. It has so many features and pockets! It's also $595...awk! Classroom was interesting and will be more so tonight.

What I got from my first session? Harley is the best motorcycle made ever or anywhere, and you can spend limitless amounts of dollars customizing any bike you buy. Oh yeah, and you can get anything with "Harley-Davidson" printed on it.

I want to ride!

Long lost relatives...

It has been raining again in Iowa. Looks like it might rain again today. I'm not sure how much we can hold againtThough it did make our yards nice and green. Other than rain and humidity, I had a great weekend. Got lots done Saturday and nothing on Sunday. Perfect!

I got a call Saturday afternoon from someone I haven't seen or heard from in years. My cousin Dan Minion from Windom, Minn. He drives truck and just happened to have some time as he was coming through Waterloo. We met at Junie's truck stop/restaurant, which didn't take him out of his way at all. It was great to see him and hear how he is spending his life and about his family. I took this cheesy picture of the two of us for proof. BTW, he sounds just like my Uncle Les in the way he talks. I think it's a Mountain Lake thing hehe.

Empty Nest

Well, my birdies flew the coop! It was the day after I took the last picture. Unfortunately, what I was afraid of happened...Maggie got one and brought it to the deck as a gift to Laura. I checked the yard and I guess the other two got away. Phew! I showed Ranger the empty nest and he sniffed it thoroughly. I don't think he understood the birds were gone cuz he still focuses on the area on the deck that was above the nest.

Laura got her internship for school...Yay! She is working at a groomer in Hudson and she has already started working 3 days a week, 10 hours a day! She has been clipping nails, bathing dogs & cats, shaving the tufts of fur between the paw pads, and a bunch of other stuff. She is very happy as she was thinking of going into grooming after graduation. This will give her an opportunity to see if that's what she really wants. So far, so good!

Baby Birds

I took another picture this morning of the babies in their nest. They are getting bigger for sure. I need to keep an eye on their development so when they get out of the nest, our dogs don't get to them first!

What's up?

Tomatoes! As usual, the plant explodes and I can hardly contain it.

Peppers! Sorry the picture is sideways but I just had to show how big these are!

Parsley, Basil, Chives, Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, and 2 pepper plants.

This nest under our back deck has made Ranger obsessive. He can smell the little birds through the space between the boards. I went to throw the nest out the other day and whoa! there are 3 babies in it! If you look closely at the top of the nest you can see 2 little heads & beaks peeking out.

I have been nagged a bit by some to blog, as it has been a while. It's just not real exciting here on Lovejoy. My gardens are growing, there are tomatoes and peppers, parsley & basil. We had a great storm last night with lots of rain, which believe it or not, we really needed. We haven't had rain since the flooding.

We had a good 4th starting with the Lofstuen 1st annual 4th of July party. Mike never disappoints with his grilling skills and fireworks. The best was the grilled corn on the cob! Yummy! Ranger and I went and we stayed overnight. I must admit that Carrie's potato salad was pretty darn good. I was the "old" person there, more like the "grandma" or MeeMaw as Cassie calls me. There were a lot of little kids and Dusty's little 2 month old boy, Ayden.
I forgot my camera so for pictures, see Carrie's blog at www.mikeyandcarrieslife.blogspot.com/

That pretty much says it for today. *************lois