The Motorcycle is Ready

Hey hi everybody!

This week has been great, as I hope that everybody else's week has been good too. :-) The big thing I did this week was get me motorcycle off the back of my truck where it has been sitting for quite a long time. I had to do this because I wanted to move my RV to a new site and thought it would make it easier backing up if there weren't two huge handlebars blocking the window. Anyway, since my dad is about 1500 miles away (whom is an excellent motorcycle mover) I had to think of a plan B person. And I decided to call Gloria B for the job. I told her basically that her function was to just call 911 if the thing fell over on me coming down the ramps. So this is how it went. Gloria, is a girly girl as you know, so she was wearing her dress and heels with her two inch gorgeous fingernails...as opposed to me - jeans, shirt, and stubby nails ready to dig dirt with. :-/ Well, I released three pulleys on the bike and suddenly the weight of 365 lbs starting leaning over so I jumped on. Then I realized I was going to have to BACK it down the ramps. At this point because I was born with arms two feet too short for this task I had to ask Gloria to use her perfectly manicured hands to release the last clamp with her knuckle and hold on for dear life as I rolled and breaked going down the ramps. :-( I didn't want to scare Gloria, but at this point, my joke to her about only being there to call 911 was starting to look like a very good possibility. But I took a deep breath, and starting rolling and Gloria held on for dear life and we rolled the beast down. I almost couldn't believe it when we hit the ground vertical rather than horizontal. Anyway, I have shined it all up and the cheap transportation machine is ready to go. :-) ...Oh yes, I am now in Rancho Mirage, so anyone reading this that is in the area is welcome to stop by for a cup of coffee...or tea...whatever else we can find in the fridge. :-)

Love to everyone,
d :-)

I'm A Big Dog Too... :-/

Hey hi everyone!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful month. :-)

Life is going good for me, Harvey and Pearl. I am getting organized since leaving Korea. About 10 days now. The last few years there have been incredibly wonderful – many good friends, excellent students, and met some really nice teachers at my old school. But now I am ready to press on with goals. You know how it is...sometimes in life we end up doing what we are doing because it is easy, but not necesarily what we want to do anymore...and that is fine...but if we can change and WANT to make a change then it is nice to have that option :-). And that is how I found I was getting. I loved my job and the people I met, but I knew in the back of my mind that I always had more that I wanted to do. In early September I made the decision that I was going to get going with what I originally planned – working less and doing more volunteer work. Goals I have wanted to accomplish for quite a while now...but kept putting off. :-( As I mentioned before, my job was really nice, and I liked the people I worked with...but actually something did help me make the decision more than anything else...you know, that little kick in the butt that sometimes we need...before the light bulb FULLY turns on. :-) Hard to believe as it is, but I had to work from March to September with a broken computer :-b (that is my tongue hanging out). Pretty hard for any of us to work with broken equipment if that is your tool. Grrr…very frustrating. In fact, in mid-August the other foreign teacher at my school was so upset about it that she told me that if the computers were not fixed by the end of the month that she was going to hand in a resignation letter. Thankfully for her the computers showed up a couple days later, so she didn't have to do that. But for me, it gave me enough reason to start reflecting on life and goals and what is important. And I really wanted to follow through with the plans I came to Korea with three years ago, and knew now was the time. I am so excited about how everything is coming together as the days go by. I am here at a resort park in my RV for the next three months and then will go our next destination....(that is my teaser:-)) I am working of course too, so that has me very inspired and busy. I have lots of ideas for the students and spend lots of time making lesson plans and curriculum right now.

Attached is a picture of our morning walking area right now. Our resort has palm trees and mineral pools but outside of it is open desert. The mineral sort that apparently heal people. I have NO idea about this...will have to go injure myself deliberately and then hop into one. :-) Harvey and Pearl seem to love it, except there isn’t much that Pearl can pick up in her mouth these days...as much as she would like to. She was so used to chomping down on endless items she found in the park. But this week she did find something to grab onto. I turned around and saw her with a HUGE horse turd in her mouth – almost half the size of her puny head! There is riding stable at the end of the road which is our walking path every morning and night and there is one gentleman that rides his horse to work everyday so when he passes they are just in awe…or fear. BIGGEST dog they have ever seen in their lives. :-) Actually the biggest dog is the one we have to pass on the way to the stables. There is a house with double fences, razor wire along the top and a dog that is a small pony that looks like it weighs about 150lbs. Since we are out in the desert it kind of screams "meth lab" at me, so I try just to walk straight ahead to pass it and let Mr. Muscly Drooly Jowls bark and seethe at us from his fence. However, it never fails, just as we are passing the front fence where this dog is bouncing and practically tasting us, Harvey stops and does a pooh dump right in front of him. :-/ What’s with that??? Each time! It is as if he holds it just for that moment. Pearl and I are shaking in our paws, with slasher memories in our heads from last winter, and here is Harvey seemingly deliberately poohing in front of this huge dog. And I have found that it is very difficult to drag a poohing dog. Anyway, I think it may be a dominance thing. Who knows…

Well, I am thankful that I bought Harvey and Pearl medical insurance before arriving in America, because as you are all pretty well aware, I am the proud owner of the most accident/illness prone dog EVER. This morning I hear squeeling and run out to find Pearl holding her leg up crying like a banchi. It took about 15 minutes to soothe her and I finally called Tracey to help me take a look at her before heading off to the vet. Pearl is bit of a drama queen so I did not want to go to the vet first and find out there was a thorn stuck on her paw or something. How it is right now, is that I gave her some Drama Trauma, an herbal remedy, and I will watch her over night. The wailing has stopped so maybe she just twisted it playing on her lead. Let’s hope so. :-)

As I said before, I really am so excited to be back in the Desert! Work, and other things have me feeling so inspired these days, and seeing old friends and visiting has just been the best. The congregation has just been wonderful and being in service has just been great too. Later this year I even hope to make it to Canada. Summer would be an awesome time to be up there – biking, hiking…and seeing more friends and family. :-)

Okay, I better run. I am going to hunt down my camera and start taking more pictures for you all.

Have a super great week!

Love to everyone!

d :-)