Ten Years Scootin'

10 Years Scootin’

In the spring of 2007 I lived way out in the country in a little house on a ridge.

Everyone, including my 78 year old neighbor lady, rode ATVs up and down the gravel road.

She would come up the road to our house and sit with me out on the porch in the evenings and we would drink coffee and talk about planting gardens and watch the birds at the feeder and sometimes see the stars come out at night.

One evening I asked her how she came to ride an ATV around the ridge. Her reply began a new direction in my life,

“I ride to get out and see things I normally wouldn’t see. It is how I clear the cobwebs out of my head! There’s nothing like it!”

I knew right then and there that I wanted that experience too. It was why I used to ride my bicycle in the city, why I walked in the woods, why I took long drives along the river.

During this time I was working a temporary job at a town an hour away. On the way to that town was a very small “mom and pop” Honda power sports dealer in a little, itty, bitty village that was more a strip in the road than anything else. I’d pass through the area on the way to and from work and there were motorcycles and ATVs in the front window.

One day I stopped to look at the ATVs. This was 2007, a time when Honda was phasing out their then broader scooter line. I looked at the ATVs, but was drawn over to the scooters. At this point in time I was totally ignorant, so had a lot of questions.

I won’t bore you with them here, but suffice it to say I got right down to this: on an ATV I could ride up and down my rural road and in the woods, but on a scooter I could ride OFF that road and into town and beyond.

I wanted to ride on the trails and dirt roads with my neighbor. I did not want a big machine that took up a lot of room and was hard for me to handle.

At that time on the dealership floor in 2007 there was a Big Ruckus, a Helix, a Metropolitan, an Elite 80, and a little Ruckus. A little Camo Ruckus with a gunmetal gray frame and big ol’ fat tires.

That was it-that was the one that got it all started.

From there I’ve owned a Honda Elite 80, Honda Elite 110, Honda Metropolitan, Yamaha C3, Genuine Buddy Psycho. 2 Rucki, 2 Mets, 2 Elite 110s.

If I could I would own one of each again and then add some more to the collection.

Ten years later I still ride to get out in nature, to slow down and relax, and to explore my surroundings in a way that only a biker knows.

I still love scooters, and the little ones are the most dear to my heart.

10 years! Who would have thought? Here's hoping for another 10…

Happy Birthday!

Me and Abe in February. It's always been that way for me. He was born on the 12th, I was born on the 16th. He grew up in Kentucky, I grew up in Kentucky. We were children only miles apart in Hardin County, his boyhood home being less than an hour from mine.

His cabin still stands in the middle of a national historical park, though it is currently undergoing some renovation. You can read about this park here:

http://www.nps.gov/abli/index.htm

Abe and I met in school and then later in the "World Book Encyclopedia" set that my parents bought for me in the third grade. That is about the time that I set up my love for learning, a personality trait also displayed by my buddy Abe.

I had a third grade teacher then, Mrs. Lila Cissell, who opened my eyes to history and it was all around me in central Kentucky. Hodgenville was right up the road and so the story of Abe, growing up in a simple log cabin and reading his lessons by firelight, came alive for me.

I was an only child, shy and introverted, who found many friendships in fantasy and reading and Abe and I seemed kindred. He'd have his birthday and then I'd have mine four days later. George came along on the 22nd, but he was too late for our celebration. It was just me and Abe.

As the years went on I found myself drawn more and more to the historical circumstances of Abe's life and eventually of his untimely death. It's like I knew him and grieved his loss like a brother or favorite uncle.

I've visited Gettysburg and imagined him standing there on the battle field, saying those famous words, "Fourscore and seven years ago...".

One time when I was a teenager, my horse riding girlfriends and I rode way out onto the most isolated part of the reservation that was owned by Fort Knox, where I grew up as an Army brat.

We'd take these extended day rides and go out and explore wild areas with our picnic lunches and cameras and curious minds.

Fort Knox had arisen as the "Home of Armor" in the early 20th century from the Federal confiscation of several county land areas in central Kentucky. In that process many small villages and townships were more or less consumed and erased from existence, leaving only a few graveyards, churches, and homesteads standing out in the wilderness.

Here's some more on the history of Fort Knox, my home town:

http://www.knox.army.mil/About/History.aspx

On this one particular day we came upon a primitive pioneer cemetery hidden deep in some woods alongside a creek. We got off our horses, tied them up, and decided to explore the gravestones, many of which were so weathered to the point that they could not be easily deciphered.

Among these gravestones we found numerous members of the Todd family, Mary Lincoln's ancestry. It was fascinating and we wondered if these folks might be close relatives to Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln.

Of course in those days there was no ancestry.com or way to find out more about them. But I found it fascinating and one more link to Abe and his heritage in the area.

So Abe and I, we celebrate our birthdays together in February. His is on Sunday, mine is this coming Thursday.

It's a funny thing, this relationship that I have always had with Abe, but it's just part of who I am.

Happy Belated Birthday, Abe! And Happy Birthday to me!

Why Blog? I've Got Books In Me!

Sometimes I don't blog for days, weeks, months at a time. I used to blog all the time. I would create "blog" moments after a scooter ride and post photos and write all about my experience. It was so much fun and so gratifying, that putting of thought and experience into words.

Such is the nature of writing, for me anyway. There is a gratification and a joy in "saying it just so", conveying that emotion, describing that moment, person, or place.

Who or what benefits from all this? Maybe a few people read it and enjoy it or become inspired or enlightened. Some I hear from, most I never know about.

I enjoyed concocting it, but I did not get paid a dime for it. I read other's writings where I know they got paid for it and I think, "Geeze, that was crap!" And they got paid for this crap?

"Getting paid" is not why I blog or write. If I got paid, that would be nice. But I don't go looking for it. Yet.

I say "yet" because I have been told over and over "you oughta write about..." this or that time, this or that experience, this or that whatever in my life.

Yeah, I "oughta". And I want to. I've got books in me and I know it and I am approaching a time when I will get up and spend my morning writing about "this or that". Books.

The inevitable direction of all this is, yeah, I'd like them published somewhere and I would not mind at all being a "published author". Even if it's a "vanity press" or "Amazon" self-published book.

I've thought of a "serial" novel where readers subscribe and pay to read installments. Thought of it. No idea how to make that happen on the web. None. No one to ask either. Guess I'd better get moving on the research on that too.

Why all this rambling now? I just filed for my Social Security retirement last month and will get it in the spring. I will keep working part-time doing contract health care work a few hours a week and working my on-line collectibles store for a bit of money. Maybe delivering some flowers at holiday time.

But I am in the process of really pondering how I want to spend my "retirement time". Not sure why I am pondering all this. Maybe it's a sense of mortality creeping up more and more. Don't want to miss anything, waste anytime. And now I will have much less financial stress to hinder my soul from pouring out profound thoughts on blogs or laptops or tablets or whatever.

I've got books in me. Essays. Stories about country living, angels, living in Europe as a child, growing up an Army brat, working the back roads of Appalachia in health care, being a caregiver, living among the Amish, riding a scooter from here to there, frugal living, growing older in America, etc.

Books in me.

What to do, what to do?

Turkey Protest

There's a lot to protest these days and the same ol' routine Thanksgiving dinner menu is one of them. So...

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...We are "going rogue" this year for Thanksgiving!

I am putting together a pot roast tonight in the big ol' crock pot and will wake up to coffee, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and...


Lazy and Cheap Crock Pot Pot Roast

You’ll need:

A pot roast
Bag of celery hearts
Bag of mini carrots
About 10 red skin potatoes
A medium yellow onion
Salt and pepper
1 tsp dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
Salad seasoning mix
2 bay leaves
2 cans of beef broth

This quantity is for a 5 quart crock pot. Use less for a smaller one.

Chop up what needs chopping up and lay the veggies in the crock pot, to the level where you have about 3 inches depth left from the top.

Sprinkle the rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper on the veggie layers. Place a bay leaf at either end.

Lay the pot roast on the veggies and then drown it with the 2 cans of beef broth. I use a salad seasoning mix and sprinkle it over the meat along with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 8 1/2 to 9 hours or until the meat falls apart and the veggies are soft.


We will also have buttered sweet peas, tossed salad, Cranberry Celebration from Kroger, and Hawaiian dinner rolls.

On top of this we will enjoy some Frische's pumpkin pie and Redi Whip for dessert!

And don't forget the coffee!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

In Your Honor

Vote!

Dam Ride!

On Sunday I spent a few hours riding out on Clermont County's back roads. Headed over to the dam at East Fork Lake.

My Realtree seat cover is from Cheeky Seats!

Enjoy your autumn adventures....safe rides!

Cool Breeze Ride

Yesterday I just spent the afternoon riding out on the back roads around my county.

I didn't go very far, but I stayed out about 3 hours on the scooter.

It was a perfect day: sunshine, low humidity, light breeze, 70s. Just perfect.

I followed my usual "ride that refreshes" and spied my little donkey buddies alongside this road.

I've been stopping and talking to them on scooter rides since I moved back here in 2012.

I tried to get them to pose "just right", but they declined until just after I put my camera back in the handlebar pouch.

Thanks guys!

I travel down this little one lane paved road alongside the creek. It is particularly beautiful in autumn. Not so far off.

Some one decided to pose old bicycles alongside the fence line near their property by the creek. They caught my eye as I scooted.

I rode on into the village of Batavia where I stopped at a UDF and got some cheese crackers and a Starbucks Frappucino blended cold carmel coffee.

I was so relaxed due to the sunshine and pleasant breezes that I could hardly keep my eyes open!

Scooted over to a favorite cemetery and sat under a shady oak and drank my java and phoned a friend in Kentucky.

After a while there I headed back home alongside my creek route and paused for a photo, mostly because my rear end needed a reprieve!

Breezy crossed over 800 miles on her motor while on this ride and she is running smoothly and just purrs along, so glad to be out on the back roads.

Safe Rides...Deb

My Little Met

I took a little spin yesterday out in the country on my "new" little Honda Met. What a joy, what a gift! To ride again is sweet!

Here she is last Tuesday, parked at Mt. Moriah Cemetery on the way home from the Honda dealership...

It's a pretty place with a lake, waterfall, fountain, and ducks. I saw a heron fly overhead as I pulled up beside the lake...

Once I got her home I spent a good bit of time adding bling and so forth, of course. But then we had days of horrid, hot, humidity and then rain, rain, rain.

So the first time I really got to ride her out into the back roads was yesterday on a favorite rural loop.

Immediately I was eyed by curious by-standers, peeking through the fence at me...

Not too far along I parked alongside a rushing creek and hit the kill switch and just sat and listened to the sound of the water bubbling over the rocks...

The road ahead. I believe in being seen, so Breezy sports a bicycle hi-viz reflective triangle on the back of her Saddlemen roll bag, with no apologies for geekiness...

From the front you can see my "Crazy Critters" marketing motif...my new pet sitting business. My little 2002 Denim Met is part of my business presence in the neighborhood surrounding these back roads...

Up by the old cabin is a pond that today was algae covered. The cabin is on the right...

Looking back at Breezy, waiting to leave the pond and cabin area...

She is named for my sweet "Breezy", who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on June 29th...

On to Veterans Park in Union Township. Here is a nice lake with a cheery fountain and LOTS of duck and geese friends...

Ready to head home. She came to me with 727 miles on her and we just added another 30 or so.

Such a sweet ride and such a wonderful gift made possible by the generosity of a fellow blogger. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My little Met, Breezy. This scoot is LOVED!