Scooter Saga

"Your battery checks out fine*.  There is nothing wrong with it.  It must be the brake."  I'd been hearing that since before Maui** even though I had noticed a significant power loss in places where it never happened before. But I figured the manufacturer knew best, so I ignored my nagging unease, got a new brake mechanism and scooted with caution.  The scooter store, Maui, and Central Oregon have something in common—flat terrain and no scooter challenge.  Typical of Western Oregon, Lake Oswego is nothing but hills. It was the weekend of Earl and Jason's annual three day bicycle adventure.  It was a good opportunity for me to visit with a long time girlfriend—fun for everyone.  I thought a local attraction to share with my out-of-town guest was Lake Oswego's Farmers' Market.  I could scoot downtown, meet up with her there, browse the market, eat breakfast and scoot back.  Although I was working with diminished battery power, I maintai...

Having sold our old van, Earl and I had rented a big travel van for our family vacation.  We needed room for his bike, my trike, Skeeter, our youngest grand daughter's bike, my walker, food for an army, and minimal luggage.  I can't believe how much stuff we lugged for five days.  Fortunately, Earl and I are used to packing light, the weather was going to be warm the whole week, and I didn't need to pack my hiking gear. Returning late on Sunday, I needed to return the van by 10 Monday morning.  I knew the rental place wasn't far and it was close to Sandie's home.  I could meet her there and she could drive me home.   No problem.  So, I go out to the van with my Winnie walker, setting it aside while I open the van and decide where best to put it.  I remembered how important it was to set the brakes, having learned that lesson, the hard way, a while ago.  I had been checking the mail in Maui when my walker rolled to the other side of...

Although Earl does most of the shopping and cooking these days , I am a good cook–just not terribly participatory.  To be more accurate, I'm a fair 'specialty' cook, but was never very good on a daily basis, even for a family of four.  My specialty dishes are characterized by multiple ingredients and steps.  Being such a good multitasker in my pre–SCA days, I could make a dish in under an hour.  I never worried about all the steps required because it didn't matter then.  Although I love one dish meals, I never mastered them. With the help of an assistive device, I can contribute dishes to larger family meals like Szechwan sweet & sour sauce, red beans & rice, cornbread & honey butter, marinara—given enough time.   Awkward movements–oh well The good news is that I have time on my hands, because it takes two or three hours now.  My 'whip something up' days are behind me.  As strange as it sounds, I prefer to cook in solitu...

This year's family vacation took the ten of us back to the warm, high desert and pine trees of Central Oregon.  It's not that we didn't enjoy the Oregon Coast last year.  In spite of the good weather, it was just too cold and we're a group of Northwest weather wimps.  Besides, this house was new, with a view, big enough for three families, had a hot tub, wi-fi and a fire pit.  A plus for me in that it was advertised as wheelchair accessible.  Perfect! That's when I realized that some able-bodied people equate 'master suite on the main level' with handicapped access.  It's not.  Call it a great place, a beautiful home—just don't call it 'accessible'.  It was a lovely house and I'm not a complainer by nature, but the step to the front door and back patio was a big one.  Still ambulatory, it was certainly doable with help, but not if I needed a wheelchair.  The shower in the master suite was huge, tiled, showroom–worthy, but a deat...