Keeping it on Topic

This is a submission from Kurt. Found outside of Austin on Hwy 71 I believe. Thanks Kurt! Sorry it took so long to post.

We're In!

The move into the new house began on Friday 1/17/09. I started promptly at 9:00 am with a furniture dolly and a lot of "Good ole fashioned Try!" I was able to complete three loads of the heavy stuff from the condo by 1:30pm. If you've been to S's condo you will know that she has two large trunks that when filled with stuff to move should be at least a 2 man lift.

I was able to scoot one end up on the dolly, then the other end, and wheel it out to the truck...thank god for first floor living! It went something like this scoot out the door... run around lower one end down the step (damn, this is heavy)...run around lower the back end...scoot...up the other ledge (gett'n heavier)...scoot down the curb. Then push full steam ahead running the dolly up on to my motorcycle ramp and slid it up into the bed (Sweet Mother of God! I think I popped something!).

Then I went to the apartment and started loading the truck. Note to self, sprinting up a flight of stairs with a duffle bag on my back and a duffle on my chest is neither easier nor as good an idea than it was when I was 19 years old. Ow, what just crunched? Did I just lose an inch in height? I think I pulled something. Luckily Debbie and Billy came with a very large trailer and helped us clear out the rest of the condo.

Air mattresses suck! We should've slept on the floor. My air mattress partially deflated during the night so S and I would slide to the edges and eventually roll back into each other. Thunk! Crap! Try to find another position...roll to the center...thunk! A scenario that was repeated throughout the night.

I awoke promptly at 6:00am to begin moving again. Kurt and Matt came along to help and we moved all of the heavy stuff out of my apartment. My apartment has a multi-level garage to navigate not good for the back or using a trailer. So we used the fire lane that runs behind the complex instead. The worst design ever! We would load up the dollies and roll the 1/2 block down the fire lane and out to the street to the locked, waist high, fire gate. Then we would have to lift the item over the gate and set it back down on the dolly on the other side. "We're having fun now!"

We are in the house and now I can't find a damn thing! But we're very happy and we now have a place to call home!

Thanks to Matt, Kurt, Debbie and Billy, Jerry and Tanise, Harley, and Punkin' for all of their patience, assistance, and friendship during this move!

Welcome 2009

I believe it was Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher that said..."A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." If that statement is true, we have been sprinting. Now I'm not blaming Lao for being unable to predict global air travel, the Internet, telecommuting, craigslist, the economic crisis or any other distraction that has been hurled at us, however, 2008 seemed like such a whirlwind, especially in the later months of the year.

We have so much to be thankful for and the many who have been there for us. Our families, Kim and Chris, Robin, Jenny and Dusty, Kurt, Robert and Veronica, Matt and Rachel, John and Carol, Sharon, Cindy and Jeff, "The" Lisa Chapin, and our new riding buddies Candy and Koob.

We've been all over the country Maui, Anaheim, San Diego, Nashville, San Francisco (big thanks to our friends Kim and Chris, we owe you more than you will ever know), and then the house search. We even found some time to hop on the bike in search of BBQ.

So this is our First Step of the year...or as Neil Armstrong put it "Giant Leap!" On 1/17/09 "S" and I move into our new home. Our new base of operations. (Please excuse the real estate agent's photo with the tree in the middle of the frame, I didn't take it :-D)

Happy New Year! It only gets better from here.

I have been remiss!

I've let the blog linger for the entire month of October. Well I'm back and since the last post we've had quite a few "Adventures"! Life is moving along and things get hectic and apparently the Blog suffers most...

Well I state here no more! :-D I will be working on updating the blog with our trips to Panna Maria, My Parents visit with David and Maria from New York City, and our trip to San Francisco to visit our good friends the Larsenosters who introduced me to "S".

Life in general couldn't be better and between prepping "S's" Condo for sale, searching for a place we can call ours, and trotting the globe. Life is hectic and exciting and fun! I love the roller coaster.

"K"

Some More Things on Sticks!

Here are couple of items Stella found.

I35 South on the edge of Austin.

This is the real deal. I took this picture then went around the corner and there was the RV on a stick. Since then we have seen a number of things on this high roost:

Double Trucks on a Stick!

Our first reader submission provided by, our buddies, the Larsenosters! A fine example in the great State of Washington. This is an unusual occurrence because they are attached by their posterior ends....Truly a rare breed! Keep those submissions coming!

The Legend of the Ride Bell

An Article about the Ride Bell found on many bikes.

(source: www.volusiariders.com)

Here are some pictures from Google Images: (they come in different shapes and styles)

The Gremlin Bell

Many of us have heard the story about Evil Road Spirits. They are little gremlins that live on your bike. They love to ride, and they’re also responsible for most of your bike’s problems. Sometimes your turn signals refuse to work; your battery goes dead, the clutch needs adjustment, or any of several hundred things that can go wrong. These problems are caused by Evil Road Spirits. Road Spirits can’t live in the presence of the bell, because they get trapped in the hollow of the bell. Among other things, their hearing is supersensitive, so the constant ringing of the bell and the confined space drives them insane. They lose their grip and eventually fall to the roadway. Have you ever wondered how potholes are formed? The bell has served its purpose. If you pick up a bell of your own, the magic will work, but if your bell is given to you, the power is doubled, and you know that somewhere you have a special friend helping to look after you. So, if you have a friend who doesn’t have a bell, why not give them one? It’s a nice feeling for the recipient to know you care. The bell, plus a good preventive maintenance program by the bikes owner, will help eliminate Evil Road Spirits.

Polishing the Bell
It has been a tradition among some of us for a long time to attach a brass bell to our motorcycles to remember our brothers and sisters who have gone down riding. It’s a small thing, but the reason a brass bell is chosen is that, as we ride, it gets dirty and tarnished. Every time we get down to wash and polish it, we are reminded of friends lost, and our thoughts turn to the meaning of being in the wind. As we ride and hear the bell ring, we know that our brothers and sisters are riding with us, and how easy it would be to join them with a single mistake. And maybe, just maybe, the next time a situation comes up; they will be there to help us...as long as we remember them by polishing the bell.