Modes of Conveyance

There is so much to share, we might as well take one thing at a time!

On March 27th, He and She decided they would take a short trip to the North of us to scope out a little shop they had heard of. During that trip, they traveled Highway 280 through Sylacauga Alabama, where this caught their eyes:

After a quick u-turn, they went back to investigate. It turns out this is a new little vehicle that promises to bridge the gap between an automobile and a motorcycle. The Auto Moto.

With a promise of 83 miles per gallon, it could be worth a closer look! It is essentially a three-wheeled scooter with a top speed of 65 mph.


If you would like more information, they have a website here. For more information in Alabama, contact this authorized dealer at 256-369-7663. They are located at 34825 US Highway 280, Sylacauga Alabama.

After that little distraction, they continued their journey and wound up at their destination:

This is Homewood Cycle and Fitness, the Homewood location of Cahaba Cycles. Their goal during this visit was to “consider” the purchase of a new bicycle for her. After their success in losing weight over the past several months, they are gearing up for a very active Spring and Summer, and as a part of that, they would both like to become more adept in cycling. He has a nice Bianchi road bike, but She didn’t have any hope of keeping up with him on her little hybrid.

Not only did they really enjoy going into the bike shop and seeing all the wonderful cycling-related items, but the town of Homewood is so charming! The store was located in the central business district which is the home to plenty of shops, restaurants and specialty stores.

They didn’t do a lot of exploring the area, but plan to do that when they make a return trip for the free 90-day tune up. Yep! They bought her a new bike. It is a 2009 Trek 1.2 WSD. It may have been just a little outside her skill range when they bought it, but she is determined to work hard and earn the right to own such an awesome bike. Andrew worked with them to fit the bike and to make sure she understood the basics, while Kenny helped her pick out as many pink accessories as they could find. This is what they brought home:

One other individual at Homewood Cycles that bears mentioning is Lilly. Lilly is the staff Weimaraner, and she did a great job assisting Andrew and Kenny with the sale. Unfortunately, She neglected to take any pictures even though She had the camera in her purse the whole time. You can see more pictures of the store here, and there is one little picture of Lilly included.

So far, they have ridden three times and she has a total of 18 miles on her odometer. The first ride was 3 miles, the second was 8 miles and the third was 10 miles. She does have another date with a certain, very steep, hill which might have had the upper hand on that last ride, but once She learns to shift properly, that thing is hers! Her goal is 50 by 50. She will be 50 years old on her birthday in January, so she hopes to have conqured 50 miles by then. Either by a 50 mile ride, or possibly just to have 50 cumulative miles on the bike by then! We’ll just have to see how She progresses in the meantime.

Nova was just happy there were some new boxes and bags brought in!

The final thing we wanted to talk about is the bee-yoo-tee-ful weather we are finally having! Around here, when the weather gets warm enough, out comes the Harley. They aren’t too fond of riding when it’s cold and now that they have lost all their “insulation”, they have to wait until it is around 70 degrees to be comfortable. So, with the nice weather this past weekend, they once again traveled up Highway 280, with a completely different destination in mind this time. Even as they have altered their habits and become more conscious of what they consume, they have continued to treat themselves along the way. With that in mind, they made a trip to The Cheesecake Factory.

Inside, they enjoyed sharing a slice of Red Velvet Cheesecake and coffee. Unfortunately, The Cheesecake Factory doesn’t have any nutritional information on-line, but they estimate this has about 450 calories.

But, keep in mind – this is HALF a slice! He and She keep track of calories burned and calories consumed, so they were able to determine they could afford the treat. They have learned that, for them, awareness is the key to losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight. So, they made the choice to enjoy this slice of decadence completely aware of the “cost”.

Because they were on the Harley, She attempted to take several pictures, but as they were in heavy traffic some of them weren’t that great. She loved all the pretty corporate landscaping and tried to get a few shots.

Well, that about sums it up. We’ve pretty much described trips on all modes of conveyance at The House of 9 Lives with the exception of the lawn mower, the four-wheeler, the tractor and the unicycle. Who knows? We might cover those in a future post!

Lilah
*****

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Sometime She Sits and Tinks

Tink – v. to knit backwards.  Literally k-n-i-t backwards, t-i-n-k.

Yesterday “She” started her newest knitting project.  “She” is attempting to make a purse, using the “Sophie” pattern from Magnits.  There are some new techniques involved which she has never done before, including felting.  We are all anxious to see how this thing turns out.  She got off to a pretty good start, by knitting the rectangular bottom.  Then, the tricky part was picking up stitches all around to start knitting in the round.  She has picked up stitches before on a small scale when making socks.  This however, proved to be a little more difficult at first and she somehow turned the knitting, not once, but twice and was knitting first on the inside, then, the outside, then the inside again.  What a mess!  However, after a couple minutes of “tinking”, she got back down to the rectangle and began again.  She is now 5 rows into 54 rows of knitting in the round. Whew! She has a long way to go.

 Her plan is to complete the purse, with a modification to the strap design, then, make a lining.  “She” is very experienced at sewing, so that shouldn’t be the hardest part. 

This morning, “He” and “She” visited their favorite thrift/antique store and had fun with all the nostalgia.  They didn’t bring anything home, though.  Then, they just played lazy most of the day, knitting, watching tv, and, oh yeah – “He” added new computers to their bikes to keep up with mileage, speed, time, etc.  They’ll probably give those a spin tomorrow.  Maybe there will be great distances to report about, then.

Between the knitting and the cycling, they are really moving along!

Boomer

Boy, I Sure am Tiled – I Mean, Tired!!

Wow, what a busy day “He” and “She” have had.  It started with running errands (by bike!).  They made a 10 mile ride and went to the post office and the hardware store.  Then, they had a consultation with a tree surgeon to get some trees taken care of on the property.  Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they laid tile in the laundry room and half of the hallway (the other half will be completed tomorrow).

Whew! We are all exhausted from sleeping in the sunshine all day and peeking now and then at them working.  As a matter of fact, I am so exhausted, I’m going to take another nap, now!!

Kosmo  

Lyons and Tigers, but no Bears, Right?

Wow! So many things to talk about today! Like, first of all, I think you should all know I saw Nova totally give Flirt a kiss! It was subtle, but I didn’t miss it! I suppose they somehow thought they were alone and didn’t see me, you know, hiding under the ottoman.  I was sure you would all like to know about that! I, personally, thought it was grody.

Also, today was the first time that “He” and “She” have attended one of Grandson One’s little league games. “He” like, really, biked there. His trek started at 7 a.m. and on his Bianchi Giro he made the ride in 3 hours.  “She” was supposed to meet him there in the car.  He rode the bike and she drove the car – she was like 30 minutes late. Fer sure, He and Daugter will get a lot of mileage out of that one!

I hear the game was, like, totally exciting. Grandson One’s team, the Tigers, beat the Lyons 4 to 2 when the game was called for time in the 5th inning.  Grandson One made a great hit during the game and totally defended his position in right field.  The team is coached by these totally awesome guys who are like all positive and encouraging with the kids.  Here are some cool pictures from the day.

Because tomorrow is Mother’s Day, “She” and “Daughter” exchanged gifts at the field.  Sweet! 

Ok, like, I have to see what everyone is up to. I think they have a surprise for “She” for tomorrow. And, trust me, they are totally not making a decision without me. As if!

Later,
Blossom

The Lap of Luxury

It’s about time they let me at this thing! I’m the most talkative cat around here, so I probably have the most to say.  Every day when “He” and “She” get home from work, I’m the first one to greet them, talking incessantly to let them know I’m not happy they dare leave here and stay gone all day long. Also, I don’t think their day is complete until I have sufficiently covered them with a fine layer of gray tabby hair. Hey, it’s my job, and I take pride in my work!  Then, I follow them around until someone sits down to hold me.

This morning, “He” and “She” got on their bicycles and left. They weren’t gone that long, and when they came in, “She” was complaining because she thought the route they had taken was 10 miles, but she found out today that it was actually only 6.25 miles.  Then, he left the house again and went an additional 15 miles.  Not his usual distance, but a  very hilly route.

I guess it’s good they do that kind of thing – it’s supposed to be good for their health. My only concern is that they get back to the house so I’ll have a nice comfy lap to curl up in.  That’s what I’m all about. I’m a lap cat, and Iknow I was lucky to get in this house. When I showed up they already had seven cats, but I had an injury on my leg that needed attention.  They took me in to see Dr. Mitchell, who fixed me right up.  Then, they brought me home, and I’ve lived in the “lap” of luxury since!

Acutally,”She” pretty much fell in love with me at first sight, mainly because I reminded her so much of Garfield.  Garfield is a legend in this house. I didn’t get to know him, but, Jazz, Lilah, Barny, Boomer and Blossom all knew him. He had an 18 year reign as Top Cat in this household, and they were both so sad to lose him.  They tell me all the time that I’m very much like him.  For instance, I can’t get enough of being held.  When they pick me up, I twist around so that I’m laying like a baby.  Then I look soulfully up into the eyes of the person holding me with an “I love you” look.  They love it when I do that.

So, that’s what I do here.  I’m the resident cuddly lap cat that tries to live up to Garfield’s reputation, while I soak up all the love and attention I can get.

 When are you going to sit down and hold me??
Kosmo

My Idol, Garfield

Freewheelin’

“He” has always been a risk-taker, but this really takes the cat-nip. Now he has gone and gotten himself a Unicycle! He has told us he used to ride one when he was a kid, but let’s face it, he’s no kid anymore!

Amazingly enough, he still has cat-like balance. Well, maybe more like weeble-like balance.  He has actually done very well. Only one bad fall that I know of, and he tucked and rolled like a stunt-man, that time. I don’t think his boss is really pleased about his latest antics. He is needed at his job and as an IT Systems Specialist, it might be hard to work with both arms in casts!

“She” has mixed emotions about the whole thing. While she is worrried about him getting hurt, she is overall amazed at the things he can do, and actually encouraged him to buy the thing. What was she thinking??

I’m amazed, too. I might have natural cat-like balance, but I’m such a whiner, I would never do anything that might result in bodily injury. I have issues…big deal! You would have issues too, if you were born in a barn with five siblings to a young unwed mother, then adopted to a home where you couldn’t stay because someone was allergic to you, then neutered and returned to your orignal home, and named “Boomerang” because you came back. But, this is a great home. I’ve become best buds with Jazz. I love him and look up to him and want to be like him. He’s a cool cat. We nap together a lot.  Also, I have my Mama, Barny. We curl up together and take long naps until I start to aggravate her and she swats me away, even though I am twice her size! She’s got “mama power” that’s like a superhero power where size and age no longer matter! Even when I’m with her, though, I still get scared and hide. Speaking of which, the exterminator is here.  

If you need me, I’ll be cowering under the bedspread, because if I can’t see you, you can’t see me!
Boomer