He Called!

Dave called from Kuwait this afternoon! He couldn't hear me very well but I could hear him just fine. He said he has already been in a sandstorm and a very unseasonal summer rain. He was just letting us know he made it over there okay. Sounds like he will be in Kuwait for about 2 weeks and then will head up to Ballad (sp?). It's already lonely without him here.

As far as my recuperation is concerned, I have good days and bad days. When I have good days, I try to do too much and then I have a bad day or two. Carrie & Mike come over fairly often and last night, Carrie cooked supper. Mike is helping me by taking my ripe tomatoes and peppers from my garden and canning salsa! It's so good I could just about drink it. Laura is back in school full time and she also has her internship at the groomer. It'll be a while before her schedule settles down.

I hear Ranger calling me. He's on the wrong side of the door again. Later...

The Big Question?????

The Answer is? YES

Sorry about the sideways pic, I'm still figuring this stuff out.

Hello everybody! I think today is Saturday...I have had a hard time keeping track of the days & dates since last Friday. How humiliating! To buy my bike on Thursday and wreck it on Friday...there are no words. I remember most of the details up until they started injecting morphine, and then things get a little fuzzy.
This was the 2nd and 3rd ambulance rides I have taken. They need to put better shocks on those things, it was terribly bumpy. They took me to Allen Hospital and something was up with their MRI or CT machines so they transferred me to Covenant. Turns out I have 4 fractures in my pelvic bone. Guess what? It really hurts!! I was so ready to come home Thursday and they were still evaluating my skills on dressing myself, bathing myself, getting in and out of bed (the hardest). I showed them; once I was dressed in my own clothes, there was no stopping me! I walk with a walker (no snickering!) and have to take it easy for a while. My bike will probably be healed before I am.
Dave was able to stay home for another week to get me taken care of and settled at home. That was a wonderful surprise because I thought he would be gone before I got home. Carrie has been a tremendous help too. We had Laura's b-day party the night of the accident and Carrie tore herself away from the ER to help make it happen. We made Laura stay home and enjoy herself. Thank you to everyone who came to the party and helped Laura celebrate.

Thanks to all who have visited, called, sent best wishes, etc. I'm thankful for all of my family and friends who are there. I'm also thankful that I had great nurses and CNA's at Covenant Hospital who were so kind and careful with me.

Oh, the big question is: "Will Lois ride again?" (see answer at the top of thie post)

I'm sitting here looking at my blog trying to think of what to write first. Dave got home at noon Tuesday and we have been doing fun stuff and family dinners and motorcycle shopping. The promised pictures of Dave aren't on my camera but will be soon. The focus has been on the motorcycle shopping and the motorcycle.

Once we signed paperwork and got the bike on our own, I relaxed and the riding went quite well. For those who are concerned: I wear a helmet & jacket when I ride. The hat is for helmet hair, you have to hide it somehow!

Here it is: 2009 Harley-Davidson XL Sportster 1200 low. It's very shiny with it's vivid black paint and lots of chrome. It's fuel injected so I don't have to remember to turn on/off the fuel valve. The turn signals are self cancelling so that's one less thing to worry about. I've gotten it all the way up to 30 mph and in 3rd gear!!

Three nights & a wake-up

It's not long now! Dave will be home Tuesday evening!! He hopes to be home in time for the send off for the Medivac unit. I just know the time he's home is going to fly by and I just want to stop time for a while.

ACTIVITIES OF THE HOUSEHOLD PETS (AT LEAST 2 OF THEM):




Simon seems to sleep anywhere just comfortably.

You know how you can hurt yourself and man, it really hurts but you don't even get a bruise to prove it? Well, this bruise is a doozy! It's one week old now and getting more colorful every day. Doesn't it look like a continent or something?

Next time I blog, I'll have pictures of Dave!!

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.