Back to the bike shop

Pot of impatiens

Early morning light

more hydrangeas in bloom ranging from very pale pink to dark pink

Bizarre creature that stopped by the restaurant where we were eating lunch (belated birthday lunch for Shanna). There was a kid's concert on the square as we ate but this furry thing was asked to leave because she was scaring too many kids

love snap dragons

They managed to fix my bike (install new Kevlar tire...hopefully will reduce flats) in the time that it took for me to visit two different friends. I asked him if he found the hole in the inner tube.

 Which one? You had 5 separate holes...it was a miracle you could ride.

 

So I guess I was lucky. After 2000 miles, my rear tire was worn out (front looks fine) but now I have a tougher tire so hopefully, no more flats.

 

I parked in front of a small rental house near my friend. A woman comes running up looking alarmed. Some people don't like cars in front of their house (it is a public street though) so I assumed she was going to tell me to move. But I soon recognized her as an especially annoying housemate of forty years ago. Apparently she needs to know who comes and goes on the street. She wanted to know what I was doing there. I told her who I was visiting (another housemate of the same era)

Is she expecting you?

 

Of course she is. I then asked her if she recognized me.

 

How could I forget your weird, unusual smile?  She then went on to ask if I were still in poor health.  (do I look like I am in poor health? I just biked 300 miles)I had seen her 6 years ago when my friend first moved in and I was doing chemo but I have managed to avoid her since then. As far as I can tell, she just sits around all day. When my friend was dealing with numerous health issues, she couldn't be bothered to help. But I am well aware of her inherent laziness and whininess. Forty years hasn't changed that. Back in the day, we lived in a co-op containing mainly early 20 year old students. She was at least ten years older than me when she moved in. She neither was working or going to school. I assume she was living off a trust fund. As it was a co-op, we were all expected to do chores around the house and guess who was the enforcer? For the most part, people were co-operative but we had two scofflaws (who of course became friends). This gave me experience in dealing with lazy teenagers though one scofflaw was my age (who I had know since I was an infant) and this old to me lady. All the older one had to do was vacuum the living room. Numerous requests were made. Finally I did it myself and charged her for my labor (permissible per the contract). All sorts of whining ensued when she got the bill. Can't I see how tired she is? (a listing of fake ailments followed) How heartless I am! What a bitch I am! She had zero responsibilities in the world and couldn't be troubled to push a vacuum cleaner. As for the other scofflaw, I dumped the trash she was supposed to empty in her bed. She moved out in the middle of the night, not to speak to me for a year and all I could feel was relief.

 

My friend is regularly treated to a listing of the ailments. Of course nothing as serious as what my friend has gone through.

 

It is funny how we regard age. Back at the co-op I thought of her as impossibly old. On the last bike ride I did with Josh, I was 42. A woman soon began riding with me who was 55. I remember thinking what an awesome rider she was despite her advanced age which now is 7 years younger than what I am now. She did another ride with me in Indiana the following year.   I have since lost touch. One fun aspect was that she travelled with tiny liquor bottles (alcohol is forbidden on school grounds) and every evening, offered me a cocktail. She was great.

 

So first a nice visit with my former co-op friend and then on to one of the Moms where we drank spritzers on her beautiful deck watching humming birds. It was a beautiful, sunny, dry day as was today.

 

Steve watched the grandbabies today as Shanna and I went for lunch at that great Italian place on the town square. A nice day to sit outside. Oliver finally lost a tooth. He was the only one in his class (and he one of the older students with his January birthdate) not to have reached this milestone. And further insult, his younger brother lost two teeth the week before.

 

Back in my day as a Brownie leader to 6 year olds, I gave each child a minute or two to relate something important to them in the past week. Usually they told stories of tooth loss interrupting each other with their more interesting (to them) story but no, I didn't allow interruptions. Each girl gets her moment in the sun. One girl burst into tears because she was late to lose teeth thus no stories to share.
Shanna missing her 4 central incisors:

 

Oliver happy to have reached this milestone: