An emotional day

A very sweet dog showed up at my neighbor's house several days ago and has been sticking around. An older dog, a black lab, rolled over for belly rubs when anyone approached him, no collar. We called the sheriff and the local veterinarians and we posted his picture on the Custer County Facebook Animal Page. But no one came forward.  Jim couldn't keep the dog (he travels for work and is gone a lot).  I sure wanted to keep him but my life is in turmoil right now and I just couldn't indoctrinate a new animal into my household right now.   It just broke my heart.

So I called my fellow Pet Project volunteer, Glenn, and he said he would take the dog even though he already has three dogs. So I went down to Jim's and the dog was gone. So now of course I am worried about him but I am telling myself that he simply found his way back to a loving home.

Then today I got a Facebook message from a woman I've never met but who evidently met Marshall at some point during his illness (I remember him telling me about this encounter).  Anyway, here's the message (and it just tore me up):

Good morning, Marilyn. 
I wanted to share a story with you I thought you might enjoy. My husband (well, we've actually never made it official) and I moved here four years ago. Sometime after (I think it was - maybe - three years ago) we went to Eduardos to eat. 
We were sitting there, and noticed this very friendly looking man sitting at a table by himself. I smiled and said hello, and before you knew it, the three of us got into a lengthy conversation about ... well ... everything!
He shared stories about the love for his family, cancer (I lost my best friend to cancer 3/7/14), Westcliffe, politics, and the list went on and on. 
He really touched us -- just such a genuinely nice guy. What a special treat to meet him. 
I hope you're doing well -- maybe we'll meet one of these days.
Polly

How sweet of her to reach out to me at this time. I am having a very emotional day. 

THREE Men & A Truck

After my trip to Denver yesterday and seeing quite a few of the trucks for Two Men and A Truck, I felt pretty comfortable that those trucks could get to my house easily (they resemble UPS trucks and the UPS guy gets up here with no problem - he doesn't particularly like coming up here but he does it).  So I called them today.  And they said YES, they would come up my road but they would send three men instead of two.  Fine with me!  So she took all my information and when I know for sure when the closing date will be I can call them back and get it all scheduled.  And they will bring me boxes and other packing materials.  Boy, was that good news.

It's going to cost $147 an hour from door-to-door and an extra $100 for two large screen TVs but it will be worth it.  I haven't tried to do the math yet, but it's 4 hours to get here and 4 hours to get to Thornton and then, I guess, however many hours for them to get back to their base (GULP) and then however long it takes for them to load and unload the truck.  I need to start saving money.

And oops, I may have spoken too soon -- as I was typing this, they called me back and they are having second thoughts.  So stay tuned.

Today was the walkthrough -- I am exhausted!

Had to take Coco with me because the dogsitter wasn't available. We left home at 7:00A and drove the four hours to Thornton. Had to stop for Coco a bunch of times.

Got to Thornton around 11:30 so my real estate agent took me to lunch. The walkthrough was at 1:00. The place is looking really good. Here's some pictures (I'm starting to get a little excited and sure wish Marshall could be here to see it).



Living Room (Coco is checking it out)



Dining area and looking at kitchen. Refrigerator not installed yet.



Entry area - coat closet on right, powder room on left.



Entryway (coat closet on the right, powder room on left)



Living Room -- i love the floor.



Kitchen



Master Bath



Powder room on main level.



Kitchen


Garage.

While I was up there I located a storage place and I went ahead and rented a storage unit so I can slowly bring stuff up whenever I come to Denver and put it in the storage unit until I actually move in. And I can also store things that I'm not sure I even want to keep but it will give me time to think about it.

They estimate the closing may be the end of November.

Now it's bedtime. Coco and I are absolutely drained.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lift Chair

Early on in Marshall's diagnosis, when both the disease and the treatmen were making him weak and very fatigued, he bought a really nice lift chair. It did a great job of lifting him up and helping him sit back down. But I absolutely hated that chair because it made him lazy. I wanted him to try to use his legs and his arms to push himself out of a chair so that his muscles would get stronger and help protect his bones. But I lost that battle.

Anyway, I was trying to find someplace to donate the chair that would please him and I know he would prefer that it go to a veteran. So I called the nursing home where he stayed earlier this year and the woman I talked to said they would love to have it. So I went down the road to the cabin where the couple were closing up for the winter and they were still there. So Tony came up and helped me get the chair out of the house (that involved removing the front door to make room and then putting the door back on) and then getting the chair into the back of my truck (that involved removing he tonneau cover on the truck). It took about an hour.

I drove to the nursing home and went in to get someone to come out and unload the chair and the guy said they wouldn't take the chair because -- guess why? -- they didn't want their residents relying on the chair and losing leg strength. Well, after everything I went through this morning to get that chair out there, I told this guy that I was not taking that chair back home. One way or another it was going to stay at the nursing home. I suggested that he just unplug the chair and let one of the residents simply use it as a chair. They agreed to that and the chair is now at the nursing home. Marshall would like that.

Last week when I got those new glasses, I hated them so I went back and picked out different ones with Tricia helping me on Facetime. They came in today and I like them SOOOO much better.




Tomorrow I have to drive up to Denver for a walk-through. I guess it's the first of many upcoming walk-throughs. But the place should be further along by now and I can get better pictures. It will be a long day and I'm already tired. I'm going to try to find a storage facility while I'm there and if I find one I like I'll go ahead and get it rented so I can start bringing stuff up when I go and just put it in storage until I'm ready for it.

All of a sudden I'm having a little trouble at the bank with my joint account with Marshall. Every time I make a deposit I have to get supervisor approval. I guess I need to get his name off of the account. I sure didn't want to do that. So that's on my list of things to figure out.

I have to take Coco to Denver with me tomorrow because the dogsitter isn't available and Coco can't be left alone for very long. That will make the day a little more tiring, but he's my baby..... Can you believe he's almost 15 years old?



When we get back tomorrow night, I don't have anything on my calendar for the next week, so I can get back to packing. And napping. I'm tired.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Finished the Yoga Workshop

Today was much better.  The whole thing kind of came together for me today.  All of the writing we did yesterday came together and we all kind of figured ourselves out (if that makes any sense).  We each ended up with something called a Dharma Code which is a positive statement that we should invoke every day to encourage good things in our lives.  Then we did some meditations.  It all felt pretty good.  And might be of some help in dealing with these periodic attacks of grief.

Then I came home and said goodbye to two of my neighbors who own a cabin down the road and who only come up when the weather is good.  They close their cabin down in October and don't come back until April, so I will probably be gone by then so they came up to say goodbye.  That was really sad for me.  I really like this couple.  However, they live in Denver and I may see them up there.

The weather is getting colder and it's the time of year when Marshall would have been using the wood burning stove for heat.  I have never felt comfortable with that stove (fire kind of scares me), so I will probably just use the furnace and pay the higher propane bill.  He would not be happy with me.  :(

My sister-in-law talked to the monument people yesterday and they gave her the rough draft of what Marshall's headstone will look like (below).  I think it looks very nice.  The upper part of the picture is the back of the headstone and it says "Father of Tanya and Stephen."  The military marker -- whenever we get it -- will go on that back part.  We decided to put my name on here, too.  The headstone probably won't be ready for another three or four months, so the scattering of the ashes is now put off for sure until spring.  I'm kind of glad.  I like having the ashes here in the house.

Now on to the Yoga Workshop.  Last night was fun and all the yoga felt good.  But today they were doing less yoga and more "mind" things and writing out our thoughts and feelings and that's just not me, so today was less fun.  They also did a lot of chanting and I didn't understand it, so I just listened.  But still it was a wonderful group of gals and it was located in a beautiful area of the mountains -- the scenery was breathtaking --  and we had fun.  Tomorrow is the last day and it goes from 9:00 to 4:00.  There will be more writing.

The whole time I was there I wanted to call Marshall and tell him how awful I was doing.  He was always my best listener.

ChampVA

Update:  I called the VA to discuss my ChampVA health insurance.  The line was busy for about two hours and when I finally got through I was on hold for 30 minutes.  (Oh, Marshall, why didn't I realize how great it was that you made all these kinds of phone calls?)

My expectations were not very high but the guy I ended up talking to was very helpful and took a lot of time with me.  He found my paperwork (evidently it all gets scanned in when it is received so it is accessible to the VA but it isn't considered "filed" until it is processed) and he said that the VA was running about 4 months behind in processing paperwork but when he has someone on the line like me they can expedite things.  So he says he expedited my paperwork and that by Monday I should be in the system.

It will still take 21 days for me to get my pharmacy card.  He told me to call back if I don't get it.  But he found my first claim and said he was expediting that, too.  I will believe it when I see it, but I got the feeling that everything was being taken care of. Yay!

And I got to thinking tbat there MUST be a moving company in a state like Colorado that is capable of doing a mountain move.  I'm going to make a few more phone calls.  But not today.

This weekend I signed up for a yoga retreat.  I hope it is as calming and meditative as I want it to be.

Today is phone call day

I hate making phone calls.  Marshall always handled that.  So I got a little behind and decided to get caught up today.  Yuk.

But first of all, I went to see the Veterans Service Officer because he learned that the VA will give me one more benefit -- burial expenses -- even though there wasn't a burial.  This benefit is a one-time limited amount payment to help the family of a deceased veteran handle whatever end-of-life costs may arise.  So we filled out the paperwork for that today.  He also said the family is entitled to some sort of tribute letter from the President so I filled out the paperwork to get three of those letters (one for me, one for his sister Audrey and one for daughter Tanya).

Then I came home and started the phone calls.  The first call was to the monument company to check on the status of the headstone.  They told me that the reason it is taking so long is because I ordered a special kind.  I didn't realize that.  It will probably be another month or two.  I also asked him about the military marker and he told me to fill the forms out again and he would submit them to the VA again and we'll see what happens.

Then I called ChampVA -- my free VA supplemental health insurance -- to find out why I still haven't received my card and why they aren't honoring my claims.  They told me it's because according to their records I still have health insuance with another company.  I told them that I hadn't had other insurance since Marshall died and I have filed the proper forms with the VA twice now advising them of that.  They told me I needed to argue that point direcly with the VA itself.  They gave me a number to call and I've been trying to call for the past two hours and there's always a busy signal.  If I can't get this straightened out in the next month I'm going to go ahead and buy separate health insurance. I don't have the patience level for this.  But I will continue to try to call the VA.

So then I started calling moving companies to get a quote on hiring movers to move me to Thornton when the time comes.  And guess what?  No one will come up here where I am.  It's too remote and the roads are too narrow and rough.  That means I will have to move myself.  It's not like I haven't done it before, but....ugh.

I called U-Haul and the only truck they've got that I would feel comfortable driving is about 16 feet.  The cost is 90 cents a mile (that would be about $400) and $30 a day.  So for a weekend trip that would be about $500.  Remember the old days when you would just get a bunch of friends together and buy pizza and beer?  Ha.  But this is doable.  I'm not crazy about it, but it's doable.  I think I'm going to have plenty of time to get moved while my present house sits on the market so if I can afford it, I can rent the truck several weekends in a row and make it a slow move.  I can get a few Westcliffe friends to help me load the truck and a few Denver friends to help me unload (you know who you are....)  :)

I've been thinking about Marshall all day today and the tears have been flowing.  I guess that will happen periodically, especially when I am planning to move away from our favorite home.

No more phone calls today.  Time to pack more boxes.

I almost forgot...

Marshall's patient advocate at the University -- Wendy -- just bought herself a motorcyce (see photo -- a CanAm, a 3-wheeler wih the two wheels in front). As soon as she takes her safety riding courses, she and I will meet for rides. And once I have moved, we can get together often. How fun! Marshall would be tickled to death about this. He knew Wendy was looking for a motorcycle and he had really wanted to still be alive when she got one.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Electrophysiologist

Today I saw the electrophysiologist.  This visit wasn't what I wanted it to be.

He went over everything with me and basically said he agreed with my first doctor and that the medication I'm on is what he would prescribe as well.  But he clearly  favored surgery.  He said I was a good candidate for the ablation surgery because my Afib is not advanced yet.  My episodes are short-lived and don't come often.  As time goes on, the chance of success with ablation starts diminishing.

However he said my risk for stroke is about 3% which sounds small but he said that is significant.  He thinks I should think about being on Eliquis (an anticoagulant) instead of aspirin but we will talk about that in January.  He told me that he does about 25 to 30 of these ablation surgeries every year and he's been doing it for about 8 years, so he does have a good amount of experience.  He also said the cryogenic surgery(freezing) is better than the radiofrequency (burning) one.

I told him that coffee was one of my triggers and he said he seriously doubted it.  Supposedly there is a large body of research that proves that not only is coffee not a trigger but that it actually protects from excessive episodes.  (Since I love coffee so much and hated like heck to give it up, I decided to test his "proof" and when I left his office I went to lunch and had coffee with my lunch -- and so far so good.  I would be ecstatic if I could have coffee again; however, I am pretty sure that it is a trigger for me.  But maybe it was the sweet roll -- and accompanying adrenaline rush that comes with it -- I had to have with the coffee!  We'll see...)

So for those of you who are caregivers, I strongly advise that you keep up with your doctor appointments.  It is hard to do -- you don't want to leave the side of your loved one, you almost feel guilty -- but it is so important to your life later on to keep your health up to date.  The doctor agreed with me today when I asked if this Afib could have come to life because of stress.  You want to avoid something like that happening to you.

Anyway, at one point in my time with the doctor he started telling me he had other patients waiting and that we were actually encroaching on another patient's time.  I didn't appreciate that.  It got me nervous and I forgot some of the questions I wanted to ask.

So now I am even more confused than I was.  Why can't life be a little simpler?

After I left the doctor I went back to the ophthalmologist's office because I hate my new glasses.  They are too dark and too big.  But it is very hard to pick out new glasses when you are too blind to see what you look like with the new glasses.  So they said I could pick out new frames.  I emailed Tricia and she called me with Facetime and I walked around the store putting glasses on so Tricia could see them and we picked out a good pair.  I should have them next week.  (Thanks, Tricia!)

Tomorrow the real estate agent is supposed to come over and take a look at the house so he can see what all the new upgrades look like (paint job, decks stripped and restained, new windows, new front door, paint touched up on the inside, etc.).  Then the house should be officially on the market by the end of this week.  I have been steadily packing boxes, there's no rush but every little bit helps.  But I am tired and am looking forward to a few days with absolutely nothing on the schedule.

Still having trouble with ChampVA paying my pharmacy bills.  So far I haven't heard anything about the doctor appointments I've had so i am cautiously assuming that those got paid.  I'm a little nervous about that.  I don't want these bills to build up into something I can't handle.  I guess I'll try to call them tomorrow and see what they say.

Dermatology appointment

I'm trying to catch up with all my health issues/doctor visits that I ignored pretty much for the past three years.

I've been using the chemotherapy cream on three areas (hand, arm, leg) for the past three weeks and today was my followup visit with the dermatologist.  The spot on the leg hadn't changed at all and she said that meant it definitely wasn't cancer so no further treatment was necessary there.  The one on my hand she wasn't sure about and wants me to continue the cream for another week at least.

But the one on my arm did all kinds of weird stuff this past three weeks.  It got inflamed and grew and then calmed down.  She said that meant it was definitely cancer but she said it went through its steps and does not need further treatment. Now I need to put steroid cream on it for a week to calm it down.  I go back in three months for a final exam.

On the way home I had a sad moment -- when I turned onto County Road 255 close to home I was thinking, "I wonder what Marshall wants for dinner," and then immediately was jolted to reality.  I really miss him.  I still can't believe he's gone.

Tomorrow is my appointment with the electrophysiologist so I can get a specialist's opinion on the whole atrial fibrillation thing.  I still get episodes periodically and it will be interesting to see what he has to say about my present medication schedule.

A rewarding day

Late yesterday, the Town Man from the town of Silver Cliff called me (in my capacity as a member of the Board of Pet Project). He had a stray dog that he had been holding for 7 days to see if the owner would claim the dog. Well, the owner didn't come forward after 7 days so the dog needed to go to a shelter. Pet Project doesn't actually have a shelter -- we are too small -- but we partner with other shelters.

So I agreed to take the dog to Denver (another long trip to Denver) and I picked him up this morning and headed to the Dumb Friends League. Look at this selfie. Isn't he adorable? And he was so darn sweet. He made the trip to Denver very well, so he's a good traveler.



Anyway, I got up to the Dumb Friends League and brought Doggie into the Intake Center. There were two people ahead of me so I was holding onto this highly energetic dog with all the strength I had (he needs some leash training, that's for sure). The two people in front of me were commenting on how pretty this dog was and I explained that the dog was a stray and I was relinquishing him to the Dumb Friends League.

Well, the woman that was ahead of me (Shelly) was there to have her dog (who was very old and very sick) put down. She said she was worried about how her two kids were going to handle it when she came home and didn't have their dog. She really took to this dog and asked if she could have him. (Interestingly, the other person in line -- a man -- said if Shelly hadn't asked for this dog, he was going to!)

I asked the Intake lady if it was okay if I gave the dog to this lady and she said sure, as long as I hadn't filled out any paperwork and as long as I did it off their premises. They did come out and check to see if the dog had a microchip and he didn't.

So I took Doggie outside and waited for Shelly to come out. She was crying a little but she perked up when Doggie ran up to her and licked her hand. I chatted with her for 20 or 30 minutes to get a comfort level that I was leaving this dog in good hands. She said she had a huge yard and two kids who loved dogs. She said she and her husband were big dog lovers and they would give this dog a good home.

While we were chatting, Doggie was sitting next to us nice and sweet, but a rabbit ran by and Doggie went crazy. He must have some hound in him.

I left there feeling really good. But these trips to Denver are zonking me!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Contract got signed today

Another long trip to Denver today but the contract is all signed and I got to spend a few hours in the unit measuring and taking pictures and daydreaming.

I wore my "cremation" necklace today -- the one with some of Marshall's ashes -- so he could be there with me while I signed the contract.  More tomorrow.  Time for bed.

Lots of stuff happening

I saw the Veterans Service Officer and he says he is sure that once we scatter Marshall's ashes, whenever that may be, we can reapply for the military cemetery marker and we will get it.  So I will hold off on that for now.

Yesterday I drove up to Denver and looked at a few houses.  And guess what!  I bought a townhouse.  So it looks like I am definitely going to move.  The townhouse isn't done yet.  They estimate that it will be finished by mid to late November.  So now I have to be aggressive about selling my house.  Decisions like this are so hard to make without Marshall and I am very nervous.

Tomorrow I get to make that long drive to Denver again to sign the contract.  Any documents that need signing after that can probably be done electronically.

I will post photos when I get them.

Motorcycle

Yesterday I got Marshall's trike out and took it for a ride, trying to figure out all the bells and whistles.  I went to a big parking lot and practiced.  It was very bittersweet.  He loved that bike so much.  But I made progress and plan to get it out more often and maybe even some day take a longer ride than just around town.

For those of you who weren't reading this blog when Marshall got the motorcycle, he had it custom painted to represent his year in Vietnam and he took it to shows to not only commemorate his unit in the Air Force but to promote prostate cancer awareness.  He passed out brochures and talked to everyone who would listen about men paying attention to subtle symptoms.  It always amazed us that the men never wanted to listen, but the women would stop and get the brochure.  Men!

The front fairing of the bike has a replica of a piece of the Vietnam Wall and it contains the names of the men who died in his unit.  The cover to the trunk has an eagle with its wings spread holding the United States in a protective manner.  One of the back fenders has a map of Vietnam.  The other back fender has a reproduction of a photo of the men in his unit who survived being shot down.  One of the front fenders has an AC-119 gunship firing on the enemy.  The other front fender has what is called the Ribbon of Death.  The gas tank has the POW "You are not forgotten" symbol on each side.  And what makes this all so special is that the artist who painted the bike did everything in such a subtle way that you have to really look closely at the bike to see all this stuff.  It sounds gawdy but it truly isn't.

The artist also put the US flag all over the bike but you really can't see it unless the lighting is perfect.  It is phenomenal.  Marshall was able to take it to three different shows before he died and he won top honors at each show.  When he knew he would never ride the bike again he asked me to promise him that I would take care of the bike and that I would continue to show it.  I told him I would take care of the bike but that I couldn't promise to show it -- I just didn't have the confidence for that.

But now, oh how I wish I would have made that promise.  It would have meant so much to him and now I'm actually feeling like I could show it.

Another thing he badly wanted to do was ride with the Patriot Guard.  They are the group that -- when invited by the family -- accompanies a serviceman's body to the cemetery.  They try to gather as many riders as possible and it makes an awesome sight and a very moving sight, sometimes as many as a hundred riders.  Marshall never got to do it because the opportunities were always too far away and he didn't have the strength.  But I get his emails now and I see the Patriot Guard information and I'm thinking I could do that for him.  Stay tuned and we'll see.

Today I went to see the Veterans Service Officer but he wasn't in so I'll try again tomorrow.

Then I went to Pueblo and picked up my new glasses.  Not sure if I like the frames all that much (see photo) but it sure is nice to have better vision and the larger glasses help in that regard.  The trip to Pueblo was a little depressing because I wanted to see him next to me.  We would always go to Pueblo to have lunch after a doctor appointment.

Tough Day

First, I got a letter from the VA denying my application for a military headstone/marker for Marshall. The reason they gave in the first paragraph was that they don't give markers to veterans who aren't interred. But in the last sentence they say "you are eligible for a government-furnished headstone or marker if you scatter the ashes" and that I should apply again after the ashes are scattered. Kind of confusing.

But then I noticed that the letter was addressed to me but the veteran's name was Marshall J Mullins. My Marshall was Marshall L Mullins. Then I noticed they had a Veteran ID number so I got out all of Marshall's papers to try to find his ID number. I couldn't find anything in the papers so I got out his wallet (which I hadn't looked at since he died) and when I saw his pictures (drivers license, VA card, etc.), as well as all his other stuff, I had a huge meltdown.

I never found a number that said it was a Veteran ID number but I also didn't find any number that matched the number on the letter I got today. I guess I will see the Veteran Service Officer on Monday and see what he thinks.

Since I have ordered a traditional headstone for Marshall I would be inclined to not worry about a military marker ... EXCEPT that this would be a very big deal to Marshall so I will keep pursuing it.

I have heard from several caregivers who read my blog and who have asked me to keep the blog going to report what life is after the loss of a husband to prostate cancer. So I will. I'm sure it will be a long time before life settles into anything even remotely resembling normal.

Hallelujah!

Well, the VA came through.  Today I got not only the money they took out of my account in July, but also a monthly benefit was approved and I got a check retroactive for August and September.  I was so excited I ran over to see the Veterans Service Officer (who helped me through all of this) to tell him the news.  He said that he needs to do a little research but he thinks there is a possibility that the VA may check periodically to see if I have other income and they could adjust this monthly amount if they realize I am working.  I did my own research and everything I find says that my monthly benefit will stay the same regardless of any other income I may have.  So we will see.

So now I have finally gotten through everything I needed to do with regard to benefits.  The only things left are (1) the headstone; and (2) spreading the ashes.  That may take some time.

I think we are almost at the end of this blog.  I will continue to post anything with regard to Marshall (and anything with regard to his motorcycle) but it probably won't be as often.  This blog has been so therapeutic for me and I thank everyone who read the blog and helped out with support and suggestions, and I thank the new friends I've met through this blog.  I don't know how I would have gotten through these past three and a half years without you and I'm sure Marshall agrees!

Hugs to you all....

Catching up

I haven't written much lately because this blog is about Marshall and there hasn't been much going on.  The VA still hasn't made a decision on my application for benefits.

My sister and daughter were here for a week and it was a very enjoyable week.  (We spent a lot  of time spiffing up the inside of the house so that it will be "showable").  I was sad to see them go.  But I'll be going there for thanksgiving.

When I got Marshall's motorcycle back from getting serviced three or four weeks ago my friends Gary and Karen let me store it at their house, trailer and all.  But I needed to find a permanent storage spot for it.  Over the weekend I heard from a place here in town that had a spot for the bike so today was the day to move the bike.  I had never personally handled putting the bike on the trailer or taking  it off of the trailer, so I was a nervous wreck.

But Gary and Karen said they would help.  So Gary hooked the trailer up to his truck and we headed to town.  I was driving my truck and Gary and Karen were behind me.  I was watching them in the rear view mirror.  It was almost like a comedy movie -- at one point I looked in the rear view mirror and I saw Gary behind me but the trailer was heading off into the ditch.  So I turned around and went back.  The first thing we did was open the trailer to see if the bike had been hurt.  It looked like it bounced around a bit but there was no damage.  It appeared that the trailer somehow bounced off of the hitch and the security chains broke.  The trailer brake that is supposed to take effect in situations like this didn't work.  Not sure why.  (By the way, Karen got some pictures of this whole ordeal and as soon as she sends them to me I will post them.)

Two guys were coming by and they stopped to help.  It was a lot of work but they somehow got the trailer jacked up enough (it had dug into the muddy ditch) so that it could be hooked up again.  We continued very slowly and made it to the storage facility without further incident.

Unless you count the fact that the battery was dead and the bike had to be pushed off the trailer and then into the building!  Sheesh!  I know Marshall was up there watching and shaking his head.

So we got the bike settled and we hooked up a battery charger so it should be okay.  So now that the bike is in a really nice storage place and I don't need to navigate the trailer situation I can actually take the bike out for rides.  I'll try to do that this weekend.

Anyway, I was very glad to get home today and very very glad to get that bike off the trailer and into its new "permanent" spot. I paid a year's rent so I don't need to worry about it for a while.  I need to get it up to the Harley place to get a new air filter so I am going to enlist a guy here in town who also has a bike to see if he will ride with me.  I will be nervous the first couple of times I take it out.  But who knows, I might actually get to the point where I would be comfortable taking it to rallies and enroll it in competitions.  Marshall won several awards with the bike and he really wanted me to keep showing it.  He would be happy if I gave it a try.