New wheels

Well, new to me, anyway.

As I was experiencing more difficulty with the distances to the mail boxes and the trash and recycling dumpsters, I finally opted to buy a used mobility scooter, a Pride Victory. It should have the wherewithal for excursions to nearby shopping areas, only about a half mile from my door. It certainly does the trick for the weekly outdoor chores. The only problem is that now it's the main feature of my living room decor.

I'm also happy to report that the Norwegian problem appears to have resolved itself without the necessity of me having to get tough. Good thing.

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Hey, Norway, I already said I was just kidding

http://audrey.yaresse.com/meander.html

Okay, this is somewhat unsettling: it seems the Norwegians, not being so sanguine about my last post (see below or click this link), may have tethered something of an electronic contact mine in the path of my internet surfing.

I was minding my own business, reading some on-line fiction, when I was struck by the author's odd use of the term, meander. I googled the word for images and found a site with an interesting photo of a river's convoluted path.

When I went directly to the site's current home page, I was confronted with a picture of Norwegians supposedly in spontaneous community service! What's more, I was bullied with a video taunting me with the fact that Norwegian has three more letters than the English alphabet. This was their proof that their culture is superior to our own. (WARNING: the lyrics in this video include two "F-bombs.")

Now I'm really worried. I will make this plea: if I should die unexpectedly, please be certain that my demise was due to natural causes—and not some nefarious revenge plot by the Norwegians!

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Sneaking in tongues

Image courtesy Google Earth.

Not for any useful purpose, but I've begun to study other languages by means of the "foreign" subtitles added to many of the movies and programs posted on YouTube. I've decided to start with Norwegian, as it seems slightly less complex than some other languages I've encountered. Plus, as a bonus, there are similarities to Swedish, Finnish and Danish. It's sort of like a Buy Three Get the Fourth One Free Sale. Of course, there're those odd letters, like the forward-slashed o (ø) and the haloed a (å), but I'm thinking they just threw those in to make it look hard. I'm not so easily fooled.

After the Scandinavian lingoes, I'll work my way through Northern Europe. I studied German in high school and I've a leg up on Polish, as I already know several prayers (thanks to my Mom) and a number of cuss words, thanks to misbehaving in front of my Dad).

And so, as they say in Oslo, Jeg bare tuller.

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I'm still standing

Er, well, sitting, actually. In my new big-brand-name leather recliner. My former beloved recliner was, alas, a cheapie from a discount furniture emporium and soon gave up the ghost.

I'm just checking in here to mention that I am more likely to make entries at Uncle Genie's Other Blog as my life, in general, has become more static since I gave up the travel trailer, snow-birding, and driving altogether. Not quite as much of the day-to-day worthy of mention now that I am an apartment dweller.

But the brain keeps ticking over, and that stuff's more likely to show up on one of my other blogs.

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On standby

I realize, of course, that there are millions of blogs on the internet. Short of devoting myself full time to developing a blog with commercial appeal, it is unlikely that this blog will attract any attention. What I write here is, consequently, purely for my own amusement.

For the time being, I have chosen to amuse myself elsewhere.

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I'm hangin' up my spurs.

It's gotten to be a bit much, all the rigmarole that is required of my gratifying and enjoyable snowbird lifestyle.

So, I've decided to rent an apartment in Tucson. In addition, I'm going to sell both my GMC Suburban and my travel trailer.

As much as I love my Colorado mountain home, and as much as I dislike living in a city, health problems and increasing physical limitations suggest the need for an urban setting and the services it can provide. Much to my regret, Colorado's San Luis Valley is way too rural to provide that service base.

Since I need to go urban, I figured I might as well live close to the kids and grandkids. Besides, Tucson's always been on my short list of most tolerable cities—if you have to live in a city. Moreover, after the Rocky Mountains, I like the Sonoran Desert best.

Giving up driving is a choice I never thought I'd make—at least not voluntarily. The notion pretty much took me by surprise. But I don't enjoy driving like I used to, nor do I feel as proficient, and gas prices have really put the kibosh on the trips I had planned to make. Where once I put 20K+ miles a year on a car, nowadays it's under 3K, most of it in snow-birding twixt Tucson and South Fork.

I think I can depend on public transport in Tucson. Granted, I will miss the convenience of my own car, but I'll unload some significant expense items as well as some major headaches. In addition, I look forward to being able to afford to travel by Amtrak.

As the slogan points out, nothing is perfect.

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