Has anyone seen any significant snow this year? Here in the Northeast, our biggest snowstorm occurred in October. While it wasn’t the warmest winter on record, it came close in several areas. Chicago says it is their ninth warmest; someone named James Poling claims it was the fourth warmest and lists 1992 as one of the four. I must disagree with James on that one-I brought my twins home during a severe ice storm on March 20th, 1992. The night of January 27th of that year, the spouse ran his hand through a table saw and I had to drive him to the ER. It wasn’t a warm evening, but I needed a coat. But, I digress…
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I am woefully out of shape when it comes to many things, not the least of which is riding any length of distance. Perhaps it’s my age, perhaps it’s because I broke my tailbone many years ago (long dumb story), but I just cannot seem to last more than a couple of hours anymore. Not that long ago, I rode most of the day; now, I might be forty-five minutes out and I start shifting my less than perfect weight. This is another incentive to keep going to the gym as well as drinking water until I gasp for air.
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Finding a good, compatible tattoo artist is just like finding a good hair stylist (something I seem to have missed the boat on lately). Each has their own way of doing their art, intermingling with their potential clients and developing a protocol in doing business. My daughter’s tattoo artist is talented but nothing I saw was my taste and he was slow and unorganized. While out riding and then walking around Flemington, NJ (home of the Lindberg trial), I happened upon a tattoo studio, walked in and later left with the sincere belief that I had found “the one”. I am hoping I will get the work done in April and will post a picture or two of the tat. Just his quick sketch got me all atwitter!
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Now that I am not working in the normal sense, I plan to do some more riding and a lot more photography. Both were conspicuously absent from my daily life for many months and I plan to rectify that. It can be difficult as my rider is one of my best friends with his own family and responsibilities. Coordinating times is the biggest obstacle but sometimes I would rather put things on hold for a few hours and just go. Chores can wait.
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I went to Bristol to visit another best friend and came home partly via the Blue Ridge Parkway. You must put this on your “Bucket List”. It is winding, the scenery is simply gorgeous and if you are lucky, you will witness a beautiful sunset. One of the things that I could not get over, however, is the extreme poverty I passed by once I got off the Parkway. But the countryside is beautiful, diverse and other-worldly. Once you get on the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are no gas stations, so be sure you are topped off, know your mileage limits and plan accordingly. There are a few crossroads but even those are away from civilization for a time. I have been to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, parts of Tennessee and driven through Virginia. I adore the South! (Just don’t give me any grits, please!!)
By Louise Reeves
