Sheldon's 1998 Ural Deco - Week Sixteen

"Riding Romance"
(1926)

Day 90, Sunday May 2, 1999... Went to the Blessing of the Bikes, great food, good friends...  I will post more about it in a couple of days.  Didn't even get time to set up a week 16 page yet.  I am out of here now though until at least Tuesday night.  Just got word that our server at our Shawano Wisconsin (near Green Bay) died today.  I have to hop in the car and make the six hour drive down there.   Soooo.... "On the Road Again" is going to become my theme song...

Day 91, Monday May 3, 1999...  In Shawano Wisconsin, working...

Day 92, Tuesday May 4, 1999...  He's Back....  Here are a couple of photos from the "Blessing of the Bikes" on Sunday.  There were about thirty bikes at the event, the first ever in Duluth, and hopefully it will grow from there.  The guy in the blue and white T-shirt is Mike Switzer, notice that he only has a hot-dog on his plate.  What a diet!!  It was a beautiful day and we really had a nice time.  A bunch of good people, nice selection of all brands of bikes, and there were two Urals in the parking lot.  Funny thing is that there were always people gathered around the Urals.

Sunday, after the "Blessing" I jumped in the car and headed out towards Green Bay.   I worked at the plant ( http://www.woodport.com ) until 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, went to my hotel, slept until 7:00 and back to the plant.  Worked there Monday until 5:00 p.m. then went and tried to fix a computer at an employees house.  After the success of fixing the server at the plant I was pumped for this little home computer, but it threw me.  Turns out the modem was bad and it was a physical problem.  Bad part about it is that I had to eliminate all possibilities of software problems before we could prove hardware was the problem.   Worked there until 7:00 and then got a bite to eat and back to the hotel where I fell asleep by 10:00.  4:30 Tuesday morning I was up getting ready to hit the road.   Arrived back in Duluth at noon, went to the office, and worked there until 5:00 when I had to go to my partner's building for a meeting with him and a customer.   Finally arrived home at 7:00 p.m. and have been working on an e-mail problem on the Moto Guzzi ListServe since.   But I give up on that one also for tonight.   It has been three tough days...  I am looking forward to tomorrow...

Wednesday I am going with Christal to her son's concert.  I really am excited to go.  If you noticed the title to this week's musings you may start to see some kind of pattern here.  Saturday and Sunday, this week, are also set aside for Christal.   Looks like my dating days may be numbered.  Something very good is happening...  And she loves my bikes!!!!
Later...

Day 93, Wednesday May 5, 1999...  Rain and fog today with cool temperatures.  Looks like a car day.  I am sure getting wimpy in my old age.  Rain never seemed to bother me before but coupled with fog it makes it doubly dangerous.  Concert was great.  Christal's son plays the Viola and the East High School string orchestra is a fantastic group.  The did some very intricate pieces and they did an exceptional job.

Day 94, Thursday May 6, 1999...  More off and on rain and fog.  There were a couple of clear moments but mostly cold and ugly.  Drove the car again.  I probably will not get to write here for the next few days but I should have lots to report on Sunday.  Tomorrow I am leaving work a bit early and Christal and I are going to the Cable Wisconsin area where we will be staying with a friend at her house on a lake.  It is going to be great to get away, and I am not even taking a computer with me.  I'm looking forward to just getting to know Christal more.   We have dated off and on for a couple of years but now we both have taken the time to get to know each other and it is turning into a wonderful experience.  The weekend should be either the start of a great relationship or the end.  But my hunch is that it will be the beginning of a lifelong love.  We seem to be so very compatible and I am captivated by her, and it seems, she by me.

Day 95, Friday May 7, 1999...  Worked until 3:00 then off to Christal's to meet her, then she followed me to Son #1's house where I dropped off the Festiva so he could replace the axle shaft and CV joint.  The best thing about having grown children is that they take pity on their old decrepit father and take care of him.  And I play the part so very well. <chuckle>

Christal and I then drove to the Hayward Wisconsin area where her friend Joan has an incredible house on a small lake.  Friday night was spent with Christal, Joan and her daughter Mardy who had driven up from Minneapolis.  They cooked a wonderful meal, we had great conversation, and pretty much just lounged around the fireplace.  (photo is of Christal and Mardy cooking dinner)

Day 95, Saturday May 8, 1999... Slept late after the most wonderful night of getting to really know Christal.  We have been going out, off and on, for about two years but only recently have taken the time to learn about each other.   We are finding that we have been waiting all of our lives for one another.  It is strange but it is now as if we have come to the place where someone turned on a light and we can now see each other for the first time, and it is one heady revelation.

Later in the afternoon we drove about 40 miles to Winter Wisconsin looking for the Winter Greenhouse.  Turned out to be the hotspot to be on a spring day.  There were hundreds of people there, and there was certainly enough product available to go around.  I have never seen so many kinds of plants in one spot in my life.    A huge place with just about anything that will grow in this zone.  I was there looking for water plants.  I had put in a pond last fall and I now need to stock it with water lilies and such.  They had quite a selection of unique water plants but the price was a bit on the high side for my blood.  Water lilies were $24.95 each.  They were "exotic", but I don't need "exotic" so I passed.

We got back to Joan's about 5:00 p.m. and then it was another hard night of napping on the couch in front of the fireplace, not using a computer, not watching TV, not working, snuggling, listening to good music and eating great food.

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