Weekend Plans Squashed

With Mrs Skoot in the hospital it was not known when she would be able to come home.  First they told us Thursday, then it got changed to Sunday or Monday and then a couple of days ago they mentioned perhaps Saturday.  So how was I to know when to expect her to be released.  I had been neglecting my chores, well not really but between leaving work, going to visit her in the hospital, then having to grab something fast to eat it made for a long day and getting home too late to cut the grass

 So I got the bright idea to insure my Corvette and then take it in for service on Friday for a transmission flush and new transmission filter.  It was something that I should have done last year but after it got vandalized it sat at the repair shop for a month waiting for a new top to be installed.

The pan seal was getting old and I need a new gasket which is included with the flush which I needed done anyway.  It was replaced with synthetic transmission oil and they also checked out my transmission which passed with flying colours.   It even seemed to drive smoother on my way home.  Now I don't have to look at all those pink droplets in my driveway

Transmissions on these Corvettes are at the rear and forms part of the transaxle.  It is connected to the engine in the front by a driveshaft then connects to the torque converter.  There is no way to replace the fluid, and there is no dipstick to check the level and my gasket has been leaking for some time (a few years).  It was just something that I never got around to having done.  It is not something that you want to do yourself because of all the mess it would make when all your transmission fluid gushes to the ground

I arrived home and decided to cut my lawn so I could keep my weekend free of chores.   The grass was so thick and long and my lawn mower struggled and chocked on all the damp grass.  The engine did not have enough power to stay running and I had to restart it many times and I think I flooded it when I turned it upside down to clear out the grass build up.   But I eventually got it going again and finished it up

I think cleaning up took just as long as the cutting.  It takes a lot of soap and water to clean up all these

grass stains, but it feels so good walking on my new lush lawn

Richard was giving me a bit of grief as I was going to fast food hamburger joints instead of more refined eateries which we have lots of in Vancouver so I felt a bit guilty as I struggled to figure out where to go.  I eventually ended up at Safeway when I decided to just make something at home

So here we are with some carmelized onions, a couple of hamburger patties and a whole sliced tomato.  I'm still loving our fairly new gas stove

Here we are, my dinner nearly done and topped off with a pile of ketchup.   It's basically a hamburger devoid of the bun

Being in a sort of Single Mode I thought that I would lower the top and cruise the finer areas of our downtown area to see how the younger half live.   It's been a while since I had cruised Robson Street, which I was going to do later in the day.   The rain was forecast to arrive in the evening so when I got up on in the morning all set for a day out on my 'Vette,  it was slightly drizzling so I left the car at home

and headed down to Steveston for breakfast "with the guys" .  I was really intending on driving my 'Vette but instead had to take my Honda commuter car

I turned on my Satellite Radio to keep me company on the 30 minute drive.    It's a 5 speed manual shift and I feel much more control with the clutch petal as you can better feel the "mesh" point, rather than if you wore shoes with thick soles.  I love driving barefoot or with thin soled sandals

Well, as it turned out, Mrs Skoot got released from the Hospital so I went to pick her up.  It is difficult for her to walk far so we decided to get car service

(grand daughter sitting in the back seat)

We didn't want to stress her hip/leg too much for the first few weeks.  We ended up at White Spot on Broadway where they have Car Hop service.   This chain is an institution in Vancouver with lots of history and known for their famous Triple-O Hamburger sauce.  (Yes Richard, but I didn't order one)

In the olden days you used to turn on your headlights for car service.   I had my lights on but no one came to take our order.   Then I noticed that they now ask you to turn on your 4 way flashers "for service".  I imagine that with day time running lights being mandatory in Canada it wouldn't be obvious who wanted service or not

The pretty car hops come to your vehicle and take your food order

Eventually your order is ready and it is placed on a car tray to be brought to your car

Here is our order being "delivered"

Mrs Skoot has the legendary hamburger combo, which includes fries, coleslaw and a beverage.  I ordered their famous clubhouse sandwich but without the middle slice of bread, fries and a coke

It is actually very tasty.   We sit in our own car and have our meal.   When finished you turn on your 4-way flashers and the car hop comes back to take your tray away

Well, I didn't get to drive my 'Vette today but Mrs Skoot is home . . .

Fast forward to Sunday Morning . . .

Me: "what do you want for breakfast ?"

MS (Mrs Skoot):  "Oats, toast, yogurt, poached eggs, milk, hot water . . ."    I was thinking Boy, she must be feeling much better.  Her appetite is back, she hadn't been eating much until now

Here we are.  Who says Men can't multi-task.  I have oats boiling on one burner and poached eggs coming up and the kettle is on

Today I am making the eggs, freestyle in nearly boiling water, with a dash of oil to keep the eggs together

while all that is going on I get out the Lemon yogurt.   Multi-tasking doesn't seem so hard contrary to what any female would tell you

In no time I have the poached eggs plated . Mrs Skoot likes to have her yokes unbroken

She must be enjoying the "Life of Riley"  issuing commands to get this and that, and what can I do except to comply like a trained monkey.  It's not like she can do much anyway until she gets her strength back

Because today is Mother's Day, our family came over for a late brunch of BBQ chicken and Kraft dinner for  the Grandchildren and then a selection of french bakery delicacies

I usually head straight for the cream puffs and of course there was a chocolate cake with lots of left over for later tonight

You can see that I had a nice day of running around . . .   Hope you also had a good Mother's Day with your family too

Alone, fast food, and no time

My most precious is in the Hospital

Last Monday morning we checked Mrs Skoot into the hospital.  I try to be strong but I am putting on my brave face.  I tell her everything will be okay . . .

After we fill out the forms we head upstairs.  I carry all the things that we were told to bring and I leave for work.   There is nothing more I can do and I feel a bit lonely as I make my

way out the lonely corridor back to the car .   I keep thinking that technology has improved to the point that these sort of procedures are safe with near perfect results.   But all the same, I worry . . .  What if . . .   Now I get to work,  I  keep looking at the clock and wonder if her surgery is finished or not.   It is hard for me to concentrate at work wondering

It is hard to find free parking around the Hospital and the first day I had to park what seems to be, a long way away.  I am not used to walking great distances anymore.  In my younger days I could walk all day and come back for more.   I realize that while our minds think young, we are now old and parts are wearing out

Later that day (Monday), I received a call from the operating surgeon letting me know that all was okay, and the operation was done.

I noticed that there was what appears to be free parking for 2 wheeled vehicles, so when I came back the next day (Tuesday), I rode my bike

there is my trusty Vstrom mingled with the other motorcycles and scooters

Then I noticed a nice Honda Jazz (Metropolitan in the USA).  I immediately thought of Martha .  Within the confines of Vancouver you will find a multitude of small 49cc scooters and they are safe because of our gridlocked and slower traffic flows during rush hours

I've been riding my bike to work but I was thinking that perhaps I shouldn't take the risk.  When Mrs Skoot is allowed to come home (in a few days), she will need a lot of help learning to walk again and to do things for herself

In the meantime, I will be the one who has to buy the groceries, cook the meals and help her do all the things that one has to do everyday.  If something were to happen to me it would be disastrous.  It will be hard enough to transport her to the doctor(s) for followup and it will most likely not be possible for the first couple of weeks, so home it will be with me having to answer to her every beck and call.

I would like to think that I am comfortable in the kitchen but when you only have to prepare a meal for one, it doesn't make sense to expend that effort.  So for the past few days I have just been eating out

I leave for work before 7am and then I rush home, grab a quick bite and then head to the Hospital where I sit for an hour or two.   It doesn't matter if Mrs Skoot is awake or resting.   She knows that I am there and that is all that matters.   The first two days she was groggy due to the anaesthesic drugs and pain killers, and hardly ate anything.   Today (Wednesday)  she actually ate half her meal but could not keep down the juices so she just stuck to water

Today I rode my bike to the hospital again.   There were more bikes there today.  I am thinking that this area must be for free bike parking, but I am not so sure.  I mean, why would the spaces be numbered

This parking area is not level and the spaces are narrow, but I managed to maneuver my Vstrom to the same space as I parked in yesterday

It's a long day.   I left home before 7am today (Wednesday), then after work I went to see my insurance agent and then headed to the Hospital again.   It is nearly sunset when I finally get ready to leave and then find something to eat on my way home

I stop off for more fast food as I have things to do and the light is fading fast.   I opt for take out and munch it down in record time

After a bit of car and motorcycle juggling I get my Corvette out of its hiding place and put my two bikes in its place out of sight.   I managed to talk the contractor into moving that toilet to the other driveway and now I am able to free my car.   I have not started my "Vette since last October so I let the engine warm up a bit, then I got out my compressor and pumped the tires backup to 32 psi all around

I have an appointment scheduled for a transmission flush so I intend to drive it to work and drop it off on my way home.   From there I think it's about a mile walk



back to the Hospital .  I am thankful for all these medical advancements that will allow us to live a more comfortable life, as we age and to allow us to do things that we wouldn't otherwise be able to do

Spring Cleaning

This weekend was forecast for Summer heat so I decided to do some Spring Cleaning

My Vstrom is filthy.  Look at the chain and sprockets with crusted on grease and dirt  from the chain lube.  There is still dirt on there from our Hell's Canyon trip last Summer

I brought out my container of Kerosene and some shop rags and started the dirty job of cleaning up the sprockets and swing arm.  It's not a spotless job but it now looks presentable.  I still have to clean the chain and relube it.

Soap would not remove all this grease but I have a container of hand creme somewhere

I also used kerosene on the wheels to clean them up

Then I got out the soap and water to finish the job

I also cleaned up the instrument cluster and windshield

and spent some more time on the rear wheel trying to get the wheel clean

With my Vstrom about 90% done, it was time to start work on my BMW  R1200R.  Being a shaft drive the rear components were not as filthy

It merely just needed a quick wash and soon enough it was gleaming in the warm Sunshine

I wanted to make sure that the rear wheel and shaft drive housing were clean

A couple of hours later, with both bikes more or less clean and ready for the road

I went for a virtual ride . . .

Sonja (and Roland) Safe Travels

A new chapter awaits you as you travel back to live in Germany.  I was just thinking of all the good times we had when you were here and the fun we had.   I have no archives to look back on because all of my photos are lost due to the shutdown of Webshots, who was my image provider.  Today I was looking through some old photos and I got a bit sad that you have gone.   I remember when you were living in Alberta and you finally made the move to Vancouver

I remember the day that you picked up your "new to you"  BMW F650GS and made your first right turn onto Grandview Highway.   You were a bit unsteady so I told you we would take it easy and I would show you some country roads

We took the Barnston Island ferry and I remember how we both struggled to not slip on that metal deck, and how we had to back our bikes up.   It was a beautiful day for our first ride

We took our time and stopped for photos and generally just enjoyed our day

We took photos of these cows to show to ToadMama (Kathy)

These photos are in no particular order as I am posting more than usual

I think we ended up at Boundary Bay and decided to get some sand in our toes

We also navigated a few gravel roads.  Your GS is a natural and feels right at home here

Of course, after every ride we have to stop for a beverage before we part ways

Nothing but the best for my riding buddy

I remember we met one morning for Breakfast in Coquitlam with Geoff & Roland

Sonja (F650GS), Bob (Vstrom DL650) & Geoff  (GS500)

After breakfast the three of us headed East on Lougheed Highway and stopped at Dewdney for a quick group photo.   It was threatening rain but so far we were dry

I remember that you wanted to test out the seating position in Sport Bike stance

I am not sure what is happening but I think I was going to throw you into this lake

We stopped at the Kilby General store for some jars of homemade blueberry jam and it started to hail and sleet.  We decided to continue East

Where we ended up at Harrison Lake where we stopped for lunch at a Sushi place across from the beach

I remember that we hadn't eaten yet but you were so hungry you wanted to have a corn on the cob first

Another time we decided to ride up the Sea-to-Sky highway to Squamish

and we found parking across the street from "Fetish", and being a shoe store I just had to go inside and see what they had

I remember that it was a very hot day and we found a beach to cool our feet in the cold ocean water

I remember the first time I took you to Sharkey's in Ladner by the Fraser River

We sat on the wharf for a while and just enjoyed the day

All was peaceful until we had to make way for some people who wanted to load the kayaks onto their boat

Sonja in Shaniko, Oregon               July 2010

I remember our time together as we rode to Oregon for iMBC2010 .   It was very hot and we stayed too long in Leavenworth for lunch and we were tired so we decided to stay in Toppenish, WA and had an early dinner.    How was I to know that I had a lunch date the next day because our emails got mixed up and Mr Conchscooter (Michael) read his calendar wrong.

This meant that we had to ride 300 miles the next morning, and Michael decided to wait for us and delay his trip home by half a day.  We arrived a bit late but the 4 of us had a nice lunch, chatted a bit and then walked around downtown Bend, Oregon looking at things to buy

Here we are, the famous author of Key West Diary, Mr Conchscooter (Michael) and his trusty sidekick Cheyenne whom he let me walk

I know Michael would want me to admit that he was "the first" to wear Pink Crocs.  I was the 2nd to embrace this manly colour, so now you have a photo of the both of us together wearing our matching footwear (both with no socks too)

Sonja, Brandy (Trobairitz), Brad (Troubadour), Kari (Bluekat), Ron & Myself bob (bobskoot)

The next day we left Bend, OR and headed to Corvallis for a quick dinner with Trobairitz and Troubadour, then the two of us left and headed towards Lincoln City, OR

Here we are posing our bikes and Crocs© with the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, Oregon

On our way home from Oregon we decided to stop in Seattle at the Pike Place Market where we would meet  Chuck (another famous blogger) for lunch

Yes, we have many memories of our time riding together.  The times we met after work for a quick beverage and a chat, our trip to Oregon for iMBC2010, and Hell's Canyon for iMBC2012 and the many lunches and dinners

I never told you but when we were coming back from iMBC2010  Oregon, we parted ways just east of Bellingham as you had to get home for a conference call, and I wanted to make a last minute visit to a friend so here we are saying our goodbyes by the side of the road.   This is where we parted ways.  We had been together for so many days riding together enjoying our time on the Oregon Coast, our ride south and now it all came to an end.  I watched you as you headed north.  I snapped this last photo of you riding by yourself.  I was no longer needed to protect you.  I stared as you were riding farther away and then you turned the corner and I was still alone, standing by the side of the road, in silence as there was no one else around

I eventually started my bike and for the first time in days I had to find my own way and I felt a bit empty.

but you weren't really gone.  You lived in Port Moody and I knew that I would be seeing you again.  Our paths would eventually cross.

This time you have really left.  You have packed all of your possessions and shipped them back to Germany.  Who knows what the future holds, if or when you return.   This time it is different.   The last photo above makes me a bit sad that you are riding away and I get a bit teary-eyed every time I see it


I posted this video a while ago and some of you may not have seen it.   It's Sonja's first day with her F650GS



and some footage from iMBC2010  Leaving Bend, OR and heading towards Corvallis, OR



 I can only say it was nice to have been your friend and I will cherish the good memories and wish that only good luck comes your way in whatever you do