Family – Page 25 – Cabin Crafted

Another disappointment

Though this one was somewhat expected. Since his retirement, with our children grown, hubby decided he wanted to take up motorcycle riding. He scheduled the state required safety class. The day before the class, we were on a bicycle ride after having had his bicycle serviced at the local bike shop and on the Huckleberry Trail where we often walk, there is a hill with a turn at the bottom. On the way back to the car, so going downhill, he had an accident that later appeared to have been the result of a serious miss adjustment of his brakes. He ended up breaking his left humerus very close to his shoulder. We were able, under the circumstances to cancel the class and they even gave him a refund. About a year later, two months after his 70th birthday, he signed up for the class again, stayed off the bicycle and successfully completed the class on a small Honda motorcycle. After the class, he located a similar used Honda and we bought it.

Now you need to understand that we live in the mountains, two miles up a macadam road, two tenths of a mile down a gravel road, and another two tenths of a mile down a gravel driveway, so not the flat parking lot that he took the class on. The motorcycle was picked up on a rented trailer and unloaded at home. He learned to deal with the gravel, and the twisty mountain roads and would disappear for hours, Zen riding as he put it, no destination in mind, sometimes, not even knowing where he was. His exploration lead him to places that we later visited in the car, sometimes looking for new adventures for him.

After about 6 months, he sold the Honda and got the Harley Davidson he really wanted and rode it over a very mountainous rural road the hour plus home. Going out Zen riding was his pleasure. Though I didn’t like to be a passenger, it was something I supported as it made him very happy. He even rode it to Florida one summer to visit our daughter when she lived there, with Grandson 1 and me as his support vehicle.

Two years ago, riding became uncomfortable, causing neck and back pain and he was only able to ride for very short periods of time, then mostly not at all. Last week, the Harley was past due on state inspection and in need of annual servicing as well as having a mirror repaired, so he rode it to the city. The mirror held up the return until a call yesterday that it was ready, but it was raining. This morning, we rode to the city to either pick it up, or sadly for him, to sell it to the dealer, a decision he had a hard time coming to. The dealer bought his bike, the end of an era for him. He is understandably sad this afternoon.

Disappointments and Silver Linings

Each year in the late summer, early fall, I attend a fiber retreat. One of the ladies I met at the one I had attended for several years decided to organize one that some of her fiber friends nearer to their home might attend and I started going to that one. The first one I attended was at Roan Mountain, TN and went there for several years. Last year the event moved to a better overall venue at Black Mountain, NC. This event is a highlight of my year, usually the first event of the season at which I also vend in addition to being a participant. I had decided that this would probably be the swan song of me vending at events. This year the event was going to return to Black Mountain and was moved a bit earlier to try to avoid some of the school and church groups that attend events at the same facility. That meant that I would have left home yesterday for the event, yesterday was hubby’s birthday. He was okay with that. The plan was for me to make his favorite meal, a homemade Mexican feast the evening before, kiss him goodbye around lunchtime yesterday and head southwest for the weekend. Like so many other events, this one was wisely cancelled. It was a disappointment, but it meant I would be home for hubby’s birthday.

Because of very limited being in public, I didn’t get him a card, but I had ordered a new T shirt on the internet and it came in time to hide away until yesterday morning. We went and got carry out lunch at his favorite burger place and the Mexican feast was prepared last night instead. We are at an age where the years are ripping by and are pretty indifferent to celebrating, but it was nice that he got messages from all three kids and several grandkids yesterday in the form of texts and calls.

The repairs are completed on the Big Bad Harley, but it is too rainy today to drive to the city and have him ride it home. But since I’m not away after all, we can drive over tomorrow.

To each disappointment there is a silver lining. I am grateful we have each other and have stayed healthy so far.

Keeping Busy

As event after event have been cancelled for this year, I must keep busy.

All of the fiber festivals have been cancelled, some are trying virtual; the Agricultural Fair in our Village, the huge street fair in Blacksburg, the retreat that I love to attend, the trips to visit our kids and to the vacation spot of my youth, have all had to not be held this year for the health and safety of the proprietors, vendors, and the participants.

Added to this, the weather has not be typical. I am generally not mowing grass this time of year, or only doing so rarely, but it has rained and rained some more and in a week’s time the grass gets so tall and so thick that the riding mower has trouble getting through it. Last evening, after a dry day, the front and part of the east side yard were mowed and it was as tall as if I hadn’t mowed just a week ago. I will try to finish today once the dew and fog burn off. The rain has made this a cucumber, pepper, and basil year, but the tomatoes are not doing very well. My single leader up a tall pole idea was good, but they are too close together, shading each other and being shaded by the asparagus ferny tops. We will get enough for pizza sauce, maybe one more big pot of tomato sauce, but not the quantity of years past. The refrigerator and shelves are full of pickles. Two more baskets of basil are drying, one already dry and jarred for winter.

The oregano was pruned and put in a basket to dry and the plant moved from the half barrel to the herb bed in the new walled garden while the soil was still damp.

Enough tomatillos were picked today to give me the quantity needed to make a batch of simmer sauce and since about a half dozen more jalapenos were clipped, it will be the spicy version. That will be made later today as dinner prep is easy tonight.

The summer reading has been mostly Appalachian fiction, some of it historical fiction, and a book recommended on the spindle group in a conversation.

When not cooking, gardening, or reading, I continue to spin on the Jenkins Turkish spindles. I find the process soothing and calming and can spin anywhere; in my stressless chair, on a porch, in the car, in the kitchen while waiting for the next step in the cooking process.

I guess I will have to find a use for all the yarn I have created since I won’t have Holiday markets to vend in this year. Many of the yarns are in my Etsy shop, but it isn’t seeing much activity during this time either.

At times I stay busy, at times I get low and cry over the losses, especially not being able to visit with our children and grandchildren. We are ever so grateful to Son 2 and his family for reaching out and making a stop near enough for us to meet our youngest grandson, even though it was masked and socially distanced. I know we aren’t alone in this, but that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.