Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' Down The . . .

Ooo, ooo, ooo! I got a new bike for my birthday. Well, I got PART of a new bike for my birthday. I threw in a considerable amount toward the purchase. And isn't this a lovely picture. I went browsing for pictures and couldn't remember how to look at them so I just guessed. Lets get a better one now . . .

Hmmmmm . . . They're being added in backward order. Ah, well. My first comment related to the picture just above it and now we'll talk about the one above that . . . me riding down the street where you can actually see the whole bike. Notice how it looks just a little off? That's because it is. The pedals are forward of where they would typically be in a normal bike. That's so the seat can be lowered and you can still get full extension on your legs . Thus, you are closer to the ground with your feet. For people with actual legs, you should be able to touch the ground while seated, making it easier to ride around town. I can't, but it's still easier to ride around town in than my Bike E. This is called a Townie. It's very comfortable since the seating is so erect. 21 speeds and a VERY low granny gear. Just the ticket for what I'm calling "my old lady bike".

I'll try another picture . . . Oops, not the one I wanted . . .

Oh, look! moM discovered Text Color! Wonder what else there is I can use up there.

I digress. But don'tcha like my new bike, though?

Later . . . . .

The Numbers Game

1. T a 7 r s a 6 w s o t A f. (T i f d.)

2. I t 45 m t b a c p a 425 d.

3. C i 6 h r A.

4. B i 41/2 h f A.

5. O 13 i 2 m a O 11.

6. 911 i n h p e.

7. T a 12 s i A A.

8. O, 2, b m s. T, f, s t d. 5, s, p u s. S, e, l t s. 9, t, b f h.

9. T a 143 s i a r o p a y u 1.

10. M m, D, h 11 b a s.

Back by popular demand.................. fun numbers! Hope Matt and Kim have computer access to play along.

Bag and Baggage

Forgot to share this story about my trip to Richmond.....

Space, of course, was going to be at a premium when Matthew and Kim and Benji and Benji's Grampa set out by car for Chicago, and Kim was hoping to get some more of Benji's clothes there relatively soon (so he didn't grow out of them before he got a chance to wear them). She was thinking about boxing some up and mailing them to her folks but I suggested that she just fill a suitcase with some things and that I take it back with me, since I only was planning to check one piece of baggage anyway.

Well, that's what she did. She filled a suitcase with some Benji clothes and some for Matt as well. Problem was, as I saw it, that although it was a nice suitcase, it was a very black, very innocuous suitcase. How would I be able to recognize it as it came down the chute. Hmmm... I had noticed, on the flight to Richmond, that one couple had tied blue ribbons to all their black bags to make them stand out and easy to spot. Now that's a good idea, I thought. The problem was, by this time we had packed all the ribbon and anything else I could think of to tie on the bag. So I grabbed a plastic grocery sack and tied it to the handle and also a little piece of green ribbon that was lying on the floor. There! No one else would certainly do that.

When my flight had landed and Marv and I went to claim our luggage I told him how I had marked the bag. We stationed ourselves at the tail-end of the baggage belt and waited. It didn't take too long and there it was - A big, black bag with a plastic grocery bag tied to the handle. We pulled it off the conveyor... it looked a little big... the sack looked a little small... where was the green ribbon? There was green tape on the handle but.... %$#$%@ we had the wrong bag! Quick, we put it back on the conveyor so no one would think we were stealing it and proceeded to wait for our bag to come along, hoping that the owner of the fake Kim's bag would notice that ours was marked with a grocery sack too.

I mean really! Who would ever think that anyone else would tie a grocery sack to their luggage!

On The M---!

Well, Matthew and Kim and Benji are m----- to C------ soon. (Is the word out to everyone yet, guys?) I had offered to help them p--- u- if they flew me to Richmond (and home again). So that's what we did... on the 23rd I flew from Des Moines to D.C. where Matthew and Benji picked me up. We spent the next full week putting everything they own into boxes. They own a lot! When I left we were nearly done and they still have a week and a half before they l----.

I could have kicked myself, though, and you all will probably want to kick me too because I forgot to take my camera along. I had it on the table, ready to pick up, and forgot about it until we were well on the way to the airport. I missed soooo many great photo opportunities.

We didn't know how Benji would react to all this packing and change, but he did fine. Spent a lot of time playing with packing peanuts. "8?", he would say. "8?" You know those packing peanuts that look like 8's? He liked those. When I helped him up or down the stairs, I would count them aloud (there are 12) and toward the end of the week I was there, he started counting them. "8, 9, 10, 11, 12. He would always start with the 8th step. One time I was counting and was at 9 and he said "8" and I said "No, 9" . He insisted it was 8 and ... he was right.

All week I worked on getting him to say "Grandma" . "Grandma", I'd say. Mama. "Grandma". Mama. "Grandma". Mama. "Grandma". Dada. Smiling with those twinkling eyes the whole time. He knew he was being funny. A few time I would see him saying the word with his lips alone, practicing for when he would try it out, I'm sure.

And we danced. I watched him while Matt and Kim went out for an anniversary dinner. He was "dancing" to a beat on his piano and I told him to come stand on Grandma's toes and we danced like that. He thought it was great fun! Unfortunately Kim, in her sandals, couldn't understand why Benji, in his shoes, was treading on her feet when they got home.

He's changing so, from day to day. New words, new understanding. It was great to be able to spend that much time with them. We're all so glad we will be able to s-- m-- of them when they m--- to C------!