Good bye ole friend

 Motor Cycle

It was a lonesome, heart felt morning as I heard the phone ring around 8am. As expected the caller confirmed he was from the salvage company and out about 8 minutes. After telling him I would meet him at the bikes location and giving him direction as to getting there once inside the park. I grabbed a shirt and headed over to our old location.

While waiting for the rolloff to arrive I working at clearing a path to drag the motorcycle out of the burnt carport. Then looking the bike over, as I had done so many times before, only this time the difference was the bike was going for the ride with out me.

When the driver arrived he backed his Pete Powered rolloff, no small feet at 40’, into position. Then got out a block and tickel and looked over the bike himself too see where best to attach the chain to it.

We had earlier had the decision that worst case scenario he would tip the bike on it side and drag it out. A thought I hated, but knowing the metric of the situation it may be the only logical solution. But the driver said he would give a try to persuading the bike out on its wheels first.

He attached the cable and jacked around on the front end till he got the fork lock to break and with my help using my foot to keep the slide the driver had placed under the kickstand as a sled, he slowly pulled the bike free from its all but trapped position, And after repositioning the chains a few times the bike came to rest against the edge of his trucks bed still up on its He having been a rider himself at one time, knowing how much a bike meant to a rider gave me a glance that said he understood and even kept the bike upright as he loaded it into a spot in the front of the rolloff’s bed.

He tied the bike down and we finished our business by signing the paperwork and my taking a photo of the document.

Good Bye My Good Friend. You sure were good to me!

Mark

Getting by

We are ever so thankful to have a roof over our head and a bed to sleep in at night. However the small size is really getting to us. With Gods help we will have things settled with the insurance company and find a new home. We have been looking for a home and needed items to purchase once we have a home of our own. But right now everything is still in limbo because of the insurance. 

Don’t ever think that your insurance company is for you or help you. They are in it to make money and that is all. We have learned that the many times now. Thanks to a family member who is a lawyer we are making the right responses to the insurance company. Without her help we would have been screwed over quite often already. A couple more things to understand and we may be able to move forward a bit.

We have found a home here in the park that we like but are still looking at others as well. This will hopefully be our last move so we need to make it the right one for what time we have left on earth. And no, moving back to Minnesota is not an option. The summer  heat is much better than the Minnesota winter cold, snow, summer humidity, and not to forget the mosquitoes. The cost of living here is lower too for those of us on a tight fixed income.

We have contacted a company to haul out the charred remains of our once lovely home, but have not heard back as to when this will be done. In Yuma everything is slow go. We will leave the park when that is done. I can’t handle seeing our home the way it is now, scooping it out would send me over the edge. I’m already teetering on the edge.

Yesterday we put our meager belongings in totes and put them in a storage shed that the park is sharing with us. The owners and managers of this park have been so very kind to us. Th outpouring help from people in the park and others living in the foothills is just amazing. Our friends have been so generous with donations that our heart is bursting with gratitude and our eyes flow with tears. Without the help of others we would be lost. We will never be able to replace some things but because of all the love and helpful offerings from others much of our needs can be met.

Our new home will never be the same as before but it will still be filled with our love for each other and God.

Lost it all.

 On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, we lost our home and ALL our belongings to a house fire. Mark was out helping a friend and Lola and I were home. Seeing smoke and fire I grabbed Lola, called 911 and fled our home in our golf cart.. My phone in one hand and Lola by the collar in the other we raced down the street to a friends house. Turning around I saw our home and everything we had and worked so hard for over the years go up in flames and smoke. I will here the cracks, snap and explosions for the rest of my life.

Because of the kindness of many neighbors, some of whom we didn’t know and never met, we had food and lodging for the night, articles of clothes and toiletries. The extend of their kindness, generosity, and prayers has been overwhelming and very humbling.

Having not a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out is putting it mildly. We have no ID, CC, no cash, paperwork of any kind. Everything went up in flames, literally.

Any questions call us, this is a private matter that is very sad and stressful.

Sad and angry

 It's been a hard week for me. Last Sunday I lost a very dear friend to the trump virus. It was a month long battle but the last week of her life the grip of death had a tight hold on her. Her oxygen level plumitted  quickly and God called her home. 

My friend had multiple illnesses that prevented her from getting the vaccine. She was so hoping that one would soon be discovered for her and those like her. But obviously that never happened. I've not even read that there is anything being done for them.

I miss her terribly and go from sad to angry at the drop of a hat. When I see someone out and about with no mask I want to smack them upside the head until their brain works. Good grief people, the virus is still out there taking lives and making people deathly ill. Yesterday my stylist couldn't understand why I keep wearing my mask everywhere. Well, I'm done going to her with that attitude. She was one of the lucky ones that had very mild symptoms when she had the trump virus. And she was pro-vaccine and anti-trump. Guess she just wants to have fun. I want to stay well as long as I can.

Today is my friends funeral, she is from PA so I won't be going to the funeral. I plan to stay busy to keep my mind occupied.  The bright side of her death is that she is home with God and no longer suffering from her many illnesses. But I will miss her for a long long time.

  KEEP THOSE MASKS ON, IT AIN'T OVER YET!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cacti

 Since we have black sunshades on our windows we don't get any harsh bright light through our windows. It is a must have for the summer months but flowers don't like it at all. There are few plants that can tolerate little sunshine and believe me I've tried multiple times with no luck. The plants will live but will not bloom. In MN I had so many beautiful African Violets. Now I have one but it doesn't get enough sunlight to bloom.

A gal in the office had the littlest cute cacti around the office. When I admired them she told me how and where she got them. As a rule I don't like cactus, but these were so small and cute AND there are no stickers/thorns on them. So each day I checked the cactus outside the office looking for little pieces that had fallen off. I collected them and put them in little pots that I had filled with potting soil.

The potting soil I had was quite old so we got some new stuff. The cactus don't seem to mind if the soil is old or not. What they do mind is too much water. So all they get is about 1 teaspoon each morning. Same as what I give the Aleo Vera. The less water the better, but all living things need some water.

The little cacti are doing well on the porch. They get sunlight but not harsh light. With the cooler now I have set my one and only African Violet on the patio table. No direct sunlight for it yet, since the sun is still boss, but it will get more sunlight out there than in the house.

I'm now happy to have succeeded in growing some plants even though they are cacti.  Once they get too big, I'll plant them in the desert.